What do black women who were division I elite track and field athletes identify as influencing post-competitive physical activity?

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Deanne Davis Brooks (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Katherine Jamieson

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to offer a deeply contextualized explanation of factors that influence post-competitive physical activity involvement among participants who are black, women, 25-45 years old, and former Division I elite sprinters, hurdlers, or jumpers. A study using exploratory methodology undergirded by a womanist epistemology was used to accomplish this goal. Based on data from four focus groups and a total of 17 participants, three categories of factors emerged as influencing post-competitive physical activity in this select group of women. Participants described track and field familiarities, social networks, and self-presentation concerns as influencing their activity. Several themes also emerged as influencing physical activity in this group. The themes were the mis-education of the athlete, contours of adult lives, and factors of difference. Collectively, the data suggested that participants simultaneously identify with multiple cultural categories and social groups, each with overlapping sets of values and expectations. These expectations influence participant's post-competitive physical activity in multiple, diverse ways.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
Athletes, Athletics, Intersectionality, Physical activity, Track and field, Womanism
Subjects
African American women $x Health and hygiene.
African American women $x Social networks.
Physical fitness.
Athletes.

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