National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football players' perceptions of women in the athletic training room using a role congruity framework

• Published in: Journal of athletic training 2010-07, Vol.45 (4), p.386-391
• Main Authors: O'Connor, Caitlin, Grappendorf, Heidi, Burton, Laura, Harmon, Sandra M, Henderson, Angela C, Peel, Judy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Athletes; Coaches & managers; College Athletics; College basketball; College sports; Content analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Educational leadership; Female; Females; Football - physiology; Football - psychology; Gender Identity; Health Surveys; Humans; Injuries; Male; Mens health; Models, Psychological; Original Research; Perceptions; Preferences; Professional sports; Psychological Theory; Qualitative Research; Sample size; Social Identification; Social Perception; Sports injuries; Sports Medicine; Surveys and Questionnaires; Team Sports; Theory; United States; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1062-6050; 1938-162X
• DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-45.4.386

Previous researchers have demonstrated that male and female athletes feel more comfortable with treatment by a same-sex athletic trainer for sex-specific injuries and conditions. To address football players' comfort with care provided by same-sex and opposite-sex athletic trainers for sex-specific and non-sex-specific injuries and conditions through the lens of role congruity theory. Cross-sectional study for the quantitative data and qualitative study for the qualitative data. Two National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Series university football programs. Male football players within the 2 university programs. We replicated existing methods and an existing survey to address male football players' comfort levels. Additionally, an open-ended question was used to determine male football players' perceptions of female athletic trainers. Paired-samples t tests were conducted to identify differences between the responses for the care given by a male athletic trainer and for the care given by a female athletic trainer. Three categories were analyzed: general medical conditions, psychological conditions, and sex-specific injuries. The qualitative data were coded and analyzed using content analysis. Male football players were more comfortable with treatment by a male athletic trainer (mean = 3.61 +/- 1.16) for sex-specific injuries and conditions than they were with treatment by a female athletic trainer (mean = 2.82 +/- 1.27; P < .001). No significant results were found for comfort with overall psychological conditions, although a female athletic trainer was preferred over a male athletic trainer for the treatment of depression (mean = 3.71 +/- 1.07 versus mean = 3.39 +/- 1.16, respectively; P < .001). Qualitative data provided support for role congruity theory. Both quantitative and qualitative evidence were provided for the support of role congruity theory.