A Sex Difference in the Predisposition for Physical Competition: Males Play Sports Much More than Females Even in the Contemporary US

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Robert O. Deaner, Grand Valley State University; David C. Geary, University of Missouri; David A. Puts, Pennsylvania State University; Sandra A. Ham, Sandra Ham Consulting; Judy Kruger, Emory University; Elizabeth Fles, Grand Valley State University; Bo Winegard, Florida State University; Terry Grandis, State University of New York at New Paltz
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-11-14
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049168
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLoS ONE
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: e49168
• End Page: e49168
• Grant/Funding Information: AH was supported by University of Missouri and Grand Valley State University.
• Keywords: PERSONALITY-TRAITS; HIGH-SCHOOL SPORTS; TITLE-IX; Science & Technology - Other Topics; EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE; GENDER-DIFFERENCES; CROSS-CULTURAL-ANALYSIS; Science & Technology; MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES; CHILDRENS PLAY; PARTICIPATION; CONGENITAL ADRENAL-HYPERPLASIA; ADOLESCENTS SPEND; Multidisciplinary Sciences
• Research Categories: Psychology, General; Anthropology, Physical

Abstract

Much evidence indicates that men experienced an evolutionary history of physical competition, both one-on-one and in coalitions. We thus hypothesized that, compared to girls and women, boys and men will possess a greater motivational predisposition to be interested in sports, especially team sports. According to most scholars, advocacy groups, and the United States courts, however, this hypothesis is challenged by modest sex differences in organized school sports participation in the contemporary U.S., where females comprise 42% of high school participants and 43% of intercollegiate participants. We conducted three studies to test whether organized school sports participation data underestimate the actual sex difference in sports participation. Study 1 analyzed the American Time Use Survey, which interviewed 112,000 individuals regarding their activities during one day. Females accounted for 51% of exercise (i.e., non-competitive) participations, 24% of total sports participations, and 20% of team sports participations. These sex differences were similar for older and younger age groups. Study 2 was based on systematic observations of sports and exercise at 41 public parks in four states. Females accounted for 37% of exercise participations, 19% of individual sports participations, and 10% of team sports participations. Study 3 involved surveying colleges and universities about intramural sports, which primarily consist of undergraduate participation in team sports. Across 34 institutions, females accounted for 26% of registrations. Nine institutions provided historical data, and these did not indicate that the sex difference is diminishing. Therefore, although efforts to ensure more equitable access to sports in the U.S. (i.e., Title IX) have produced many benefits, patterns of sports participation do not challenge the hypothesis of a large sex difference in interest and participation in physical competition.