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Degree

MEd, University of Cincinnati, Education : Health Promotion & Education, 2004.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine and compare high school coaches; knowledge level of disordered eating for male and female sports. For this study participants were randomly selected using the 2003-2004 Ohio High School Coaches Directory. The only guidelines to be selected were to be a head basketball, cross-country, soccer or swimming coach in Southwest Ohio and be listed in the 2003–2004 Ohio High School Coaches Directory. Thirty-four schools were selected to participate in the study and 26 schools responded. The coaches were sent a survey in the mail that tested their knowledge on disordered eating. There were eleven knowledge-based question on definitions, risk factors, and symptom and signs of disordered eating. Frequencies, analysis of variance, correlations and t-tests were computed to determine scores. The results of this survey found there is a general lack of knowledge on disordered eating among high school basketball, cross-country, soccer and swimming coaches in Southwest Ohio. It was found that 39% of the participants correctly answered 7 or more out of 11 possible on the objective questions. Workshops, books and journal articles were the main ways that the high school basketball, cross-country, soccer and swimming coaches obtained their information on eating disorders. The only statistically significant finding from this study concluded that there was a relationship between the number of years of experience coaching and the coaches knowledge of eating disorders. The study found that the more coaching experience a person has the less they know about eating disorders. There were no other statistically significant findings with this study to say there was a general lack of knowledge among high school basketball, cross-country, soccer and swimming coaches. In fact gender of the team being coached, gender of the coach and academic preparation of the coach were not found to be related to the overall knowledge of eating disorders.

Keywords

Eating Disorder; High School Athletes; Anorexia Nervosa; Bulimia Nervosa

Advisor

Dr. Bradley Wilson

Pages

51p.

Document number: ucin1091625934
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1091625934

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