Online Program for Coaching Girls: Coaching HER

Intervention Clinical Trial

Official title:

Coaching HER: Eliminating Gender Stereotypes in Sport Coaching

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05500781
• Other study ID #: STUDY00015642
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: May 1, 2022
• Est. completion date: August 31, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: September 2022
• Source: University of Minnesota
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Despite the numerous physical and psychological benefits of taking part in sport, studies consistently show that only 15% of adolescent girls globally meet the recommended daily exercise guidelines (Guthold et al., 2018). The team climate, created by coaches, has been identified as a critical factor in both girls' participation in, and enjoyment of, sport and movement (CITE). Research indicates that girls disengage from sport because of body image concerns, uncomfortable and objectifying uniforms, appearance-related teasing from peers and coaches, untrained coaches, and negative team cultures (Murray et al., 2021; Vani et al., 2021).

help coaching girls books as another form of media that produces "commonsense proof" of girls' sport inferiority, essentializes gender differences, reifies the gender binary (Kane, 1995), and marginalizes the sport participation of girls.

The beliefs, values and expectations of significant adults can positively or negatively influence self-perceptions, motivation, experiences, and behaviors of children (Fredricks & Eccles, 2005; Brustad et al., 2001) and also directly influence the coaching behaviors of adults (Cassidy et al., 2005).

The 'coaching girls' books examined for this study were formulaic products written from a perspective of difference, "despite extensive evidence from meta-analysis research of gender differences which supports the gender similarity hypothesis" (Hyde, 2005, p.590).

ambivalent and primarily non-research based messages contained within the books trivialize, misrepresent, distort, and marginalize girls' emotions, thoughts, relationships, skills and behaviors in sport contexts (Birrell & Theberge, 1994), while upholding coaching boys as normative praxis. Coaching girls books appear to "help" coaches of female athletes, while simultaneously reifying gender stereotypes that undermine female empowerment that can occur in and through sports.

Praxis based on gendered beliefs of inherent difference is dangerous as it can undermine male-female relationships as well as beliefs of equality, and deprive all children of the opportunity to develop their full human potential (Barnett & Rivers, 2004). Coaches must be aware that coaching is a gendered practice in which beliefs and values are enacted, sometimes in ways that limit the experiences of their athletes.

On the other hand, sport participation can improve girls' self perceptions and lead to accrual of health and development assets if the coach and adults in the context are aware of the gendered nature of sport, and strive to eliminate deleterious effects (LaVoi, 2018).

This study will test an educational program for coaches aimed at reducing gender essentialist beliefs and gender stereotypes of coaches, to improve the sport experience for girls.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 55
• Est. completion date: August 31, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: August 31, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Current Coaches of adolescent girls

• English speaking

• U.S. resident

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants under 18 years of age

• Coaches outside of the US

• Coaches who only coach adult women or men/boys

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Intervention
• Waitlist Control

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Coaching HER
The CoachingHER coach education program is a six-module online program aimed at upskilling coaches in [the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of the Coaching HER; the first online program aimed at reducing gender stereotypes for coaches]. Each module will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and consists of educational content, interactive elements (quizzes, checklists, opinion polls, reflective exercises), and additional resources.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis	Minnesota

Sponsors (5)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Minnesota	Dove Self-Esteem Project, Unilever, Laureus, Nike, University of West England

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (11)

Barnett, R., & Rivers, C. (2004). Same difference: How gender myths are hurting our relationships, our children, and our jobs. New York: Basic Books.

Birrell, S., & Theberge, N. (1994). Ideological control of women in sport. In D.M. Costa & S.R. Guthrie (Eds.), Women and sport: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 341-359). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics

Brustad, R.J., Babkes, M.L., Smith (2001). Youth in sport: Psychological considerations (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons

Cassidy, T., Jones, R., & Potrac, P. (2005). Understanding sports coaching: The social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice. New York: Routledge.

Fredricks, J.A, & Eccles, J.S. (2005). Family socialization, gender, and sport motivation and involvement. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 27, 3-31. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.27.1.3

Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1·9 million participants. Lancet Glob Health. 2018 Oct;6(10):e1077-e1086. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30357-7. Epub 2018 Sep 4. Erratum in: Lancet Glob Health. 2019 Jan;7(1):e36. — View Citation

Hyde JS. The gender similarities hypothesis. Am Psychol. 2005 Sep;60(6):581-592. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581. Review. — View Citation

Kane, M. J. (1995). Resistance/transformation of the oppositional binary: Exposing sport as a continuum. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 19(2), 191-218. https://doi.org/10.1177/019372395019002006

LaVoi, N.M. (2018). Girls' physical activity participation: A best practices model and summary. In N.M. LaVoi (Ed.) The 2018 Tucker Center research report, developing physically active girls: An evidence-based multidisciplinary approach (pp. 197-213). Minneapolis, MN

Murray, R. M., Sabiston, C. M., Coffee, P., & Kowalski, K. C. (2021). Strengthening the relationship between physical activity and physical self-concept: The moderating effect of controllable attributions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 52, 101828.

Vani, M. F., Murray, R. M., & Sabiston, C. M. (2021). Body image and physical activity. Essentials of exercise and sport psychology: An open access textbook, 150-175.

* Note: There are 11 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Total acceptability of the intervention (assessed via a self-report questionnaire)	Coaches will complete feasibility and acceptability measures via a self-report questionnaire on a scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) within the following domains: 1) affective attitude (e.g., I liked this program); 2) burden (e.g., it was easy to follow the content of the program; 3) ethicality (e.g., I think this program is appropriate for coaches in my sport; 4) self-efficacy (e.g., I am confident that I will use the techniques I learned from this program); 5) perceived effectiveness (e.g., the program was successful in improving my knowledge about gender stereotypes); and 6) content (e.g., how easy or difficult was it to follow the program?).	Immediately after the intervention
Other	Total intervention adherence (assessed through session completion)	Total intervention adherence will be assessed by the investigators as number of participants who complete the full intervention.	Immediately after the intervention
Primary	Change in coaches' self-efficacy in tackling gender stereotypes	Change in coaches' self-efficacy in tackling gender stereotypes assessed via the Coach Confidence: Gender Stereotypes In Sport (modified from Vaughan et al., 2004)	Baseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention (2 weeks later)
Secondary	Change in coaches' self-efficacy in tackling gender essentialist beliefs	Process Outcome	Baseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention (2 weeks later)
Secondary	Total feasibility, acceptability, and adherence of the intervention (assessed via a self-report questionnaire)	Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and adherence of the CoachingHER coach education program	Immediately after the intervention