The construction of the adolescent male body through sport

Abstract

The present study examined the role played by sport in understanding adolescent males' views about their body. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 adolescent boys aged between 15 and 17 years. An inductive thematic analysis of boys' narratives showed that sport provided adolescent males with a context for discussing their body image. Attributes which males liked about their body were synonymous with those associated with being successful at sport. In addition, sport was used as a forum for competing with other males both through playing sport and by using sport performance to make favourable social comparisons about their body size. Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd from Ricciardelli, Lina A. and McCabe, Marita P. and Ridge, Damien Thomas (2006), Journal of Health Psychology, 11 (4). pp. 577-587. © 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.