Development and Verification of a Gender-Role Stereotyping Index for Physical Activities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure the extent to which parents, teachers, and children (4 1/2 to 7 yr.) label physical activities according to gender. The research involved two phases, (a) development/validation of the instrument and (b) assessment of reliability and stability. Participants for the development/validity assessment were 12 experts in motor and psychosocial development of children; they were divided into two groups of six judges (three women and three men). Both groups of judges rated 45 research-based, gender-specific and gender-neutral physical activities according to the extent to which each activity involved each of 14 research-based, gender-specific physical activity characteristics. Based on the ratings of Group I judges, 24 physical activities, representative of 8 male, 8 female, and 8 gender-neutral items, were combined to make up the preliminary questionnaire. To assess the construct validity of the instrument, two steps were taken. Product-moment correlations for the rating of the two groups of judges for the total list of activities were for male characteristics .98 and for female characteristics .82. Analyses of variance showed the ratings of the two sets of judges were not significantly different on any construct. Test-retest reliability for 270 participants was .94 and .95 for parents and teachers, respectively, and .77 for the 4 1/2 to 7-yr.-old children.