A sample of 18 students (8 women, 10 men) enrolled in a semester-long adventure-education class and 32 (17 women, 15 men) enrolled in a general health class were administered the Tennessee Self-concept Scale to assess the effect of participation in adventure-based activities on self-concept. Using analysis of covariance, with the pretest scores as the covariate, significant differences were found between the two groups on total self-concept and on subscale scores of Physical self, Social self, and Behavior subscales for men, with the scores of the adventure-education class being significantly higher than those of the control group. Significantly higher scores were found for women in the adventure-education class on total self-concept and on subscale scores than on the Physical self and Personal self scales.

This study involved a comparison of scores on the Commitment to Physical Activity Scale and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale by 258 women athletes, kinesiology majors, and a control group. Mean commitment to physical activity of the control group was significantly lower than the means of the other groups; the mean on anxiety about social physique was significantly higher.

206 women and 88 men enrolled in classes requiring different amounts of physical activity were administered the Personal Incentives for Exercise Questionnaire. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance, with course type and gender as the categorical independent variables and 10 subscale scores representing incentives to exercise as the multivariate dependent variables, was completed. Canonical discriminant analysis was used to identify which of the incentives is most useful in discriminating among participants in active and less active classes or between men and women. For main effects, analysis indicated an over-all significant difference for both course type and gender. Men scored higher than women on activity and on competition, for example, while women scored higher on appearance and weight management.

Scores on three subscales of the Body Esteem Scale were analyzed for the effect of group participation on body esteem. Intercollegiate women athletes from three sports (basketball, n = 9; volleyball, n = 10; and softball, n = 12) and a control group of 34 women who did not participate in athletics were respondents. Scores on Weight Concern and Physical Condition significantly discriminated between the groups. On Weight Concern the mean of the control group was significantly lower than those of the athletic groups. On Physical Condition the control group mean was significantly lower than that of the basketball group. Other comparisons were not significant.

Differences in self-reported scores on the Body Esteem Scale were recorded for college women and men who participated in classes requiring differing amounts of physical activity. Scores for 116 women and 38 men were compared to scores for 99 college women and 60 college men enrolled in classes requiring vigorous or little physical activity, respectively. The correlation between participation and body esteem was also examined. The Body Esteem Scale was given to the subjects during the first and last weeks of one semester. Multivariate analysis of variance of scores indicated significant differences initially among the two groups of women on three subscales, Sexual Attractiveness, Weight Control, and Physical Condition, while mean over-all scores for body esteem were higher for women in the vigorous activity group than in the comparison group. No significant differences were found at the later testing. For men, no significant differences were obtained at either testing.