Speaker
Description
This study aimed to develop an indigenous, valid and reliable Perceived Stigmatization in Sports Scale for Female University Athletes (PSSSFUA). The initial 20 items-based pool was developed on the basis of in-depth, detailed and semi-structured interviews of eight female university athletes, whereas a preliminary questionnaire was administered on 125 female university athletes with age range of 18-24 years (M= 21, SD=1.6) and the process consisted of two phases i.e., Construct Conceptualization and Determining Factor Structure and Reliability. PSSSFUA was developed in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan and the final scale postulated 18 items with five point rating scale. On the basis of scree plot, three factors were extracted: Family Stigmatization included 6 items and has .82 reliability, Social Stigmatization included 5 items and has .75 reliability and Effect on Performance included 7 items and has .76 reliability. The overall Cronbach alpha value of the scale was .88 indicating appropriate reliability. The findings of the study tend to investigate factors affecting the perceived stigmatization faced by females and highlighted the significance of social change for endorsement of gender sensitization and equality in the society by defeating stereotypes associated with female sports participation. Moreover, these results would also assist in spreading social awareness regarding female athletes’ challenges and educate the general public that females should be equally represented in the proportion of sports with familial and social support, without any kind of stigmatization and more impartial allocation of resources to sports participation.
