Title:
The effects of different coming out strategies on heterosexual male athletes’ reactions
Author:
Bradley J. Bryk
Thesis Advisor:
Frank D. Golom
Committee Member:
Marianna E. Carlucci
Committee Member:
Stephen E. Fowl
Committee Member:
Heather Z. Lyons
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2020
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
Despite several pro-LGBT policies that have been passed and approved at a variety of levels over the last decade, significant empirical and anecdotal evidence continues to illustrate a male sport culture in the United States that remains ensconced in hegemonic masculinity. The various forms of homophobia that have defined sport culture in America strengthen and reproduce stereotypically male attributes, including aggressiveness and heterosexuality. Given the homophobia that is frequently displayed in sport, coming out should pose a clear challenge for gay athletes. Not surprisingly, there is a dearth of research on how gay athletes navigate the coming out process. Existing research suggests that certain coming out strategies are more likely to lead to more negative behavioral and attitudinal reactions among heterosexual teammates than others. The current study examined how a hypothetical gay male athlete coming out to his teammates with varying coming out strategies might impact participants’ behavioral and attitudinal reactions toward this athlete as well as their perception of the team’s cohesion. Data were collected from 91 student-athletes at four universities in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Participants read a randomly assigned vignette about a hypothetical teammate coming out as gay to his teammates, and completed scales assessing a variety of behavioral and attitudinal reactions and perceptions of team cohesion. Although results failed to confirm study hypotheses, there were marginally significant differences between two of the coming out strategies in participant’s experience of masculine gender role stress. Recommendations are offered to further study different coming out strategies and their impact within a sport team context.
Subject:
Academic theses
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Subject:
Thèses et écrits académiques
Subject:
Thèses électroniques
Subject:
dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Clinical Psychology
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
BrykB-20
