Examining birthplace effects in US collegiate and professional basketball

Past research has stressed the influence that environmental factors, such as population of one’s birthplace, can impact the likelihood of attaining success. Moreover, several studies of professional sports have found over-representations of successful athletes from small cities, while showing an under-representation of individuals from larger cities, with 500,000 inhabitants being the cut-off (e.g., Côté et al., 2006). To holistically examine the birthplace effect, the role of population density has also been explored, with varying results depending on sports and countries being considered (Hancock et al., 2017; Rossing et al., 2016). Taking both city population and density into account, the purpose of the present ongoing study is to investigate birthplace effects in male and female collegiate (NCAA) and professional (WNBA and NBA) basketball athletes. The US census was utilized to gather birthplace data for 8,060 NCAA, 400 WNBA and 382 NBA athletes. Data analysis is currently ongoing, and will involve computing odds ratios to examine whether certain populations or densities were significantly different from the general US population at the collegiate and professional levels. Based on prior research, the expected results should reveal an over-representation for both male and female basketball players in areas that have between 250,000- 500,000 inhabitants (MacDonald et al., 2007; Côté et al., 2006). By examining both collegiate and professional and male and female athletes while considering multiple casual variables, the present study helps shed light on environmental factors that lead to success in sport

“Get Tough!”: A Case Study on the Development of the Sport Ethic in Youth Lacrosse

While participation in youth sport is often linked with positive psychosocial and physical outcomes (Holt et al., 2017), this context can also cultivate ideals that lead to the development of unethical beliefs as well as unsafe sport practices (Al-Yaarbi & Kavussanu, 2017). The sport ethic is described as the deviant overconformity by an athlete to fit societal expectations of a sport’s high-performance culture (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). Strong beliefs in the sport ethic can lead to moral disengagement, antisocial behavior, and viewing sport like warfare (Shields, Funk, & Bredemeier, 2015). Although the sport ethic has been examined in competitive adult sport (Coakley, 2015), the development of this belief system among youth remains relatively unexplored. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner’s (1986) ecological systems theory of development, the present study employed a case study approach to investigate the cultivation of the sport ethic in a recreational youth lacrosse team over the course of a four-month competitive season. Data were collected through 109 hours of naturalistic observation (during seven games and 27 practice sessions) and semi-structured interviews with four athletes and one parent. Data were analyzed using a general thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Key themes from the microsystem level (i.e., athletes, parents, peers, coaches) highlight that an overemphasis on masculinity, specialization, and sacrifice may predispose athletes to internalize deviant ideals of the sport ethic, even if one’s mesosystem (i.e., the sport’s organization) discourages such behavior. Findings draw attention to the social factors (e.g., promoting lacrosse as a “man’s game” or encouraging violent play) in youth sporting contexts that may impact the development of unsafe practices (e.g., playing through injury, hurting opponents), and provide practical implications for youth sport coaches, parents, and athletes by creating an environment where safe sport practices are encouraged

Social Cognitive Factors Associated with Sharing Overt and Relational Cyberaggression Digitally

Cyberaggression is a substantial problem for college-aged students. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine associations between social cognitive factors and digitally sharing one’s own and others’ overt and relational cyberaggressive material among college students. Social cognitive factors included cyber moral disengagement and facets of cognitive autonomy, including comparative validation, voicing opinions, and evaluative thinking. A convenience sample of 437 college students from a medium-sized US university completed an online survey about cyber aggression and related social cognitive factors. Results from a structural equation model, controlling for gender, showed that cyber moral disengagement was positively associated with sharing own and others’ overt and relational cyberaggressive material. Sharing one’s own and others’ relational cyberaggression was positively associated with comparative validation but was negatively associated with evaluative thinking. The present research reinforces prior links between moral disengagement and cyberaggression while examining other social cognitive factors associated with cyberaggression and assisting cyberaggression perpetrators

A Qualitative Exploration of College Students\u27 Perceptions of Cyberbullying

This study facilitates understanding of college students\u27 current and previous experiences with cyberbullying and negative social media experiences using an exploratory, qualitative design. Participants were 16 undergraduate freshman or sophomores (9 women, 7 men) at a medium-sized, United States university. A 13 question, semi-structured interview probed participants\u27 past and present experiences with cyberbullying. Iterative, thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Codes were clustered together based on similarity, then grouped into hierarchical themes. First, participants considered cyberbullying to be a grey area, and their definitions of cyberbullying varied considerably. Almost all participants indicated that they experienced and witnessed the most cyberbullying during adolescence. Third, participants mentioned screens and fake personas as mechanisms through which aggressors could distance themselves from victims, empowering individuals to disengage from the harm they were causing. Last, participants described a lack of education and knowledge about cyberbullying resources. Results have policy implications including the need to educate young people about cyberbullying, and, importantly, how to report cyberbully attacks