Division I College Athletes’ Self-Perception: Investigating the Impact of Race and Discrimination

Abstract

Self-perception is the level of competency at which individuals evaluate themselves in certain areas or domains (Marsh & Shavelson, 1985). An individual’s self-perceptions contribute to their global self-worth and even predicts performance (Cuellar, 2014; Harter & Neemann, 2012). This study measures self-perception scores, as well as experiences with racial discrimination, of 306 NCAA Division I college athletes using the Self-Perception Profile for College Students (Harter & Neemann, 2012). Scores are compared across race. Findings suggest that White college athletes have significantly higher self-perception scores than college athletes of color - with recent discrimination (within the last year) as a significant predictor of multiple areas of self-perception. The implications of this study suggest that faculty and other campus stakeholders should pursue positive relationships with the college athletes they encounter. Positive relationships between college athletes and faculty may help raise college athlete self-perceptions, and in turn, performance in a variety of areas.

Team Identification and Perceptions of College Athletes

“…The college athlete population is often stereotyped as unintelligent, unmotivated, and unable to succeed academically (Comeaux, 2011;Riciputi & Erdal, 2017;Stokowski et al, 2016Stokowski et al, , 2020. However, such stigmas are often contingent upon the characteristics of the athlete (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation; Anderson et al, 2019;Arthur-Banning, 2018;Comeaux, 2018;Gentile et al, 2018;Strehlow et al, 2021;Turk et al, 2019). Female college athletes are expected to be smart (Strehlow et al, 2021), while male college athletes are seen as "dumb jocks" (Comeaux, 2012;Cooper et al, 2017).…”

“…However, such stigmas are often contingent upon the characteristics of the athlete (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation; Anderson et al, 2019;Arthur-Banning, 2018;Comeaux, 2018;Gentile et al, 2018;Strehlow et al, 2021;Turk et al, 2019). Female college athletes are expected to be smart (Strehlow et al, 2021), while male college athletes are seen as "dumb jocks" (Comeaux, 2012;Cooper et al, 2017). Stigmas placed on male college athletes are often escalated for Black male college athletes, who have their intellectual capability questioned (Comeaux, 2011).…”