Abstract

This study examined the differences between athletes and non-athletes students in relation to self-esteem and stress level. Gender of the participants was also taken into consideration. Thirty participants were recruited at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. Fourteen participants were athletes and 16 participants were non-athletes. Also, 14 participants were males and 16 participants were female. Rosenberg Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1983) were used to test self-esteem and stress level respectively. The hypothesis of this study was that college student athletes have a higher self-esteem and a higher stress level than non-athletes students. However, the results showed no statistical difference in stress level between athletes and non-athletes. The only difference found was the fact the non-athletes female scored higher in self-esteem than female athletes. This result suggests some connections with self-awareness. Nevertheless, this result may be due to an experiment bias due to the small number of participants and the fact that two female participants mistakenly took the surveys twice. Therefore future research on this topic is required to have more valuable data.

Recommended Citation

Bertolini, Frederica (2011) "Self-Esteem and Stress Perception among Athletes and Non-Athletes," Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 13, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/psych_journals/vol1/iss13/6