He's Outraged Over The Steroid Outrage

Posted 3/21/2005 7:38 PM

Outraged over the steroids outrage
By Robert Lipsyte

As a longtime steroid user, I'm confused by the frenzied reaction to the juicy news coming out of baseball these days.

Why should we care what those players do, as long as they entertain us? Who wouldn't expect pro athletes, like the rest of us, to try to be the best they could be? And how has this become a chance for yet more face time for flabby moralists instead of an opportunity to gather some necessary information?

Here's what I want to know: Exactly which performances are enhanced — and how — by which anabolic steroids, androgens, human growth hormone and whatever else athletes shoot, swallow and sniff? What are the long-term and short-term effects? Are those enhancements and side effects different for adolescents and adults, men and women?
I have ethical questions, too. How different is steroid use from cosmetic surgery for the male TV newsies reporting these stories, from Botox for actresses, beta blockers for public speakers and all the new psychological drugs for well people with the willies — the shy, the anxious, the fidgety and the sexually apprehensive?
Speaking of which, consider the tomcat fight between two of baseball's best-known sluggers and congressional testifiers, Jose Canseco and his childhood pal, Rafael Palmeiro. In his best seller, Juiced, Canseco claims he personally injected steroids into Palmeiro when they both played for George W. Bush's Texas Rangers. Palmeiro denies it. Of course, Palmeiro, as baseball's most famous pitchman for Viagra, is no stranger to performance-enhancing drugs.

"Performance-enhancement is in a gray area," says Robert Klitzman, co-director of Columbia University's Center for Bioethics. "Would you include new technologies to improve cognitive abilities? How about access to SAT prep coaching? Assisted pregnancies?"

Meanwhile, athletes certainly have no ethical dilemma about using steroids, says Michael Miletic, a psychiatrist whose Detroit-based practice includes high school, college and professional athletes. "Steroids are totally embedded in the sports culture. We need to get past the finger-pointing. There's been a wholesale abandonment of critical analysis."

My steroid use

Analyze this: I've been shooting steroids for almost 15 years, since a third cancer operation left me unable to produce testosterone naturally. Once a month, I nail one of my quadriceps with a 22-gauge needle and pump in the oily yellow fluid. Without it, my prescribing surgeon tells me, I would be physically fatigued and mentally sluggish, lose my sex drive, be achy and depressed. No question, I'm taking a performance-enhancing drug.

Yet, even with it, I can't hit a major-league fastball, sack a moving NFL quarterback or bench-press 500 pounds. Using steroids, most people can train harder and recover more quickly from breakdown and injury. But to reach all-pro you have to be what athletes call a "freak" with those potentially all-pro genes to tweak.
But chemicals also help high school boys pump themselves into beach studs, put on extra pounds for the football team and gain strength and stamina for the campaign to win a college scholarship and a pro contract. This is the danger zone, says Miletic, who is far less concerned with the middle-aged Barry Bonds' possible career choices than with unsupervised drug use by kids.

"This is where we should be paying attention," Miletic says. "First of all, there is adult complicity here. Some parents and coaches are actively helping kids get drugs, others are looking the other way. How could you not notice the dramatic changes in your child's body?

"I don't believe kids are taking steroids because they think it helped Mark McGwire. They're taking it because teammates, opponents, a strength coach, a gym owner, is telling them it will make them better," he says.

Performance-enhancers have been around for a long time, and as our games, from Little League to Super Bowl, became less classrooms for character building and more stages for spectaculars, the pressure to enhance performance swelled like Popeye's biceps (his drug was spinach, remember?). We expect our sports heroes to do anything to win for us, to find the edge, to take risks, even to play hurt. If they don't, they're replaced by those who will.

'Where does cheating begin?'

At the same time, the self-help movement made the concept of improvement, of reinvention, of taking charge of body and psyche, a kind of mandate for everybody. To refuse to at least try to find a way to feel better, look better, do better was regarded as almost a crime. Is self-help from a mind-numbing mantra more moral than self-help from the tip of a needle?

"It's going to get even more complicated," says Klitzman, the Columbia bioethicist, "as techniques for screening embryos and scanning brains become more sophisticated. Scientists will be looking for stupidity genes and smart pills. Cosmetic psycho-pharmacology is an area where people with money will have advantages over people who don't. Is that fair? In an ideal world, there would be a level playing field. Exactly where does cheating begin?"

I'll be watching baseball this season for guys who look less bulked-up than they did last season. How many are using newer, riskier, test-proof drugs? That's probably not fair.

The pundits and politicians will declare a moral victory and move on, leaving our questions unanswered. That's cheating.

Robert Lipsyte, a former New York Times sports columnist, wrote about cancer in his memoir, In the Country of Illness. He is a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.

Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-03-21-steroids-edit_x.htm

Research Article: Self-Esteem Among Amateur Bodybuilders

Self-esteem among amateur bodybuilders: A quantitative examination
Assistant Professor Jeanne Mekolichick
Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
Radford University,
Radford, VA 24141,
U.S.A.;
e-mail: jmekolic@radford.edu.

Abstract
This study quantitatively examined the self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders. Using info from the membership of the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association, USA (NABBA, USA) obtained via mail survey, two hypotheses are advanced concerning the self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders: (1) Amateur bodybuilders will possess a mean level of global self-esteem that is statistically significantly below the arithmetic mean for the Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) scale even when differences for race, class, and gender are taken into account; and, (2) Amateur bodybuilders will possess a mean level of global self-esteem that is statistically significantly below the mean of other social groups. Social groups for comparison were chosen via a Boolean search of Sociological Abstracts 1963-present using the search terms 'Rosenberg' and 'self-esteem'; articles chosen measured the RSE on a Likert scale. Employing t-tests and a bivariate correlation, the data do not indicate support for either hypothesis. On the contrary, the self-esteem of the bodybuilders in the study was statistically significantly above the arithmetic mean of almost all comparison groups. Speculations are made regarding these results, suggesting differences between the elite amateur and professional levels and 'lower' amateur levels. Recommendations for future research are proposed.

Introduction
The concept of self-esteem has not been a focus of general concern in the bodybuilding literature, however, statements from in-depth interviews and participant observations conducted in previous sociological and anthropological research suggest that elite amateur and professional bodybuilders have low self-esteem (Fisher, 1997; Fussell, 1991; Heywood, 1998; Klein, 1993; Roussel & Griffet, 2000). This research, however, has been exclusively qualitative in nature and therefore limited in number and sample size, while consisting primarily of professional bodybuilders. Researchers have yet to examine the self-esteem of bodybuilders using well-established, quantitative measures that have been proven reliable and valid, and which can be compared with other social groups. As such, one area of the bodybuilding literature that begs further analysis in this way is the issue of self-esteem.
This paper begins to address the apparent void in the literature by quantitatively examining self-esteem among a group of amateur bodybuilders. The value of this project is therefore primarily two-fold. Firstly, by using a reliable and valid quantitative self-esteem scale, a standard measure of bodybuilders' self-esteem can be obtained, thus adding generally to the body of knowledge in this regard. Secondly, by conducting a study of self-esteem among other social groups, this project also adds to the research base of self-theory.
Given this rationale, the related goals of this research are threefold: (1) to review the literature on bodybuilders' self-esteem, (2) to empirically examine self-esteem among a national sample of amateur bodybuilders using a well-established self-esteem scale, and (3) to compare the self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders in the sample to other social groups where self-esteem was similarly measured. From these goals, two general research questions were advanced, namely, using a reliable and valid quantitative measure of global self-esteem, how do the results compare with other qualitative findings? And, how does the global self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders compare with other social groups who had their global self-esteem similarly measured? The two specific hypotheses that emerged out of these questions were:
1. that the amateur bodybuilders in this sample would possess a mean level of self-esteem that was statistically significantly below the mean of other social groups. The specific social groups for comparison were chosen via a Boolean search of Sociological Abstracts 1963-present and comprised of those defined as smokers, the elderly, military individuals, women formerly on welfare, and college students.
2. that the amateur bodybuilders in this sample would possess a mean level of self-esteem that was statistically significantly below the arithmetic mean for the RSE scale even when differences for race, class, and gender were taken into account. These social structural variables were introduced because there is some research to suggest that they may be influential in the assessment of global self-esteem.
Global self-esteem refers to one's overall sense of value or worth, and is usually referred to simply as 'self-esteem' (Rosenberg, 1979). As such, in this paper, 'global self-esteem' and 'self-esteem' are used interchangeably. While several quantitative instruments have been constructed to measure self-esteem, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSE) is considered a valid well-constructed measure of global self-esteem, and has been used to measure the self-esteem of many social groups (see Wylie, 1979; Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991). Given its stable psychometric properties and its frequency of use, the RSE is used here to quantitatively assess bodybuilders' self-esteem.

Literature Review
Self-esteem
Self-esteem refers to one's sense of worth or importance; it is an attitude-positive or negative-held about the self, and includes both cognitive and affective elements (Rosenberg, 1979; Gecas, 1982). Self-esteem continues to be the most studied aspect of the self (Wylie, 1979; Gecas & Burke, 1995). Research on self-esteem demonstrates, among other things, that it is associated with occupational success and the domain of physical appearance (Baumeister, 1993; Luck & Heiss, 1972). More specifically, high self-esteem has been associated with body shape satisfaction, body image satisfaction, and perceived appearance (Abell & Richards, 1996; Baumeister, 1993; Gray, 1993; Monteath & McCabe, 1997; Thomas, 1989; Usmiani & Daniluk, 1997). Low self-esteem, on the other hand, has been associated with higher levels of eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia, a distorted body image, and a sense of inadequacy in domains where success is valued, such as one's occupation (Baumeister 1993; Boskind-Loodahl 1976; Joiner & Kashubeck 1996; Luck & Heiss, 1972).
Social variables such as class, race, and gender have been implicated in global self-esteem variations among individuals (Bush, Simmons, Hutchinson, & Blyth, 1978; Demo & Savin-Williams, 1983; Offer & Howard, 1972; Rosenberg, 1979; Rosenberg & Pearlin, 1978; Rosenberg & Simmons, 1972; Simmons & Rosenberg, 1975; Simmons, Blyth, Van Cleave, & Bush, 1979; Wiltfang & Scarbez, 1990), although not consistently (Gecas, 1982; Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974; Rosenberg & Pearlin, 1978; Wylie, 1979). With regard to social class, higher social class is reported to positively influence self-esteem, although these findings are inconsistent and the relationships are weak (Demo & Savin-Williams, 1983; Rosenberg, 1979; Rosenberg & Pearlin, 1978; Wiltfang & Scarbez, 1990). Similarly, with regard to race, either no differences have been reported, or the self-esteem of African-Americans has been shown to be slightly higher than that of Whites (Hoelter, 1983; Rosenberg & Simmons, 1972; Rosenberg & Rosenberg, 1989; Taylor &Walsh, 1979; Yancey, Rigsby, & McCarthy, 1972). The findings regarding gender differences have also been inconsistent. Some studies have reported males having higher self-esteem than females, while other studies have found no differences (Hoelter, 1983; Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974; Wylie, 1979).
Bodybuilders' self-esteem
Research conducted on bodybuilders to date has suggested that their self-esteem is comparatively low (Fisher, 1997; Fussell, 1991; Heywood, 1998; Klein, 1986; 1993; Mekolichick, 1999; Roussel & Griffet, 2000). Klein (1993), for example, adopts a psychoanalytic interpretation of the professional bodybuilding subculture. He focuses on why individuals became involved in bodybuilding and then deduces from these explanations their sense of global self-esteem. He argues that "recruitment to the subculture...stems from real, felt unmet needs and personality deficiencies. In short, poor self-image lurks in the background of most bodybuilders" (Klein, 1986, p.129). Fisher (1997) similarly argues that the self-esteem of professional bodybuilders, particularly female bodybuilders, is low. She writes:
Although the female bodybuilders interviewed found motivation and achievement through manipulation of their bodies, that achievement was sought as a result of an impoverished sense of self, a feeling of personal inadequacy...Co-participants described how their sense of self-esteem was not very good at all, either currently or prior to beginning competitive bodybuilding (p.151).
Paralleling the findings of Klein and Fisher, Fussell (1991), in his autobiographical account of his life as a professional bodybuilder, speaks of his own feelings of inadequacy and recounts similar stories of his lifting partners. Further, Heywood (1998) suggests that "competitive bodybuilding...with its emphasis on isolated individual achievement and winning at all costs may...contribute to an individual's sense of valuelessness" (p. 205). Qualitative data gathered by Mekolichick (1999) using amateur bodybuilders is also supportive of this position. In this respect, one of her bodybuilding subjects recounted: "I began to body build for one reason alone, insecurity. I continue to body build for the same reason" (Personal correspondence, September 11, 1998). Finally, Roussel and Griffet (2000), in a study of experienced female bodybuilders in France claim that "the analysis of our interviews showed that before becoming bodybuilders, the majority of the women we talked to had low self-esteem" (p.146). In short, therefore, from the available qualitative data assessing the self-esteem of largely professional and elite amateur bodybuilders, the findings suggest low levels of global self-esteem.

Methods
Subject selection
Five national amateur bodybuilding organizations in the United States were contacted regarding their participation in the study. Only one organization, the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association, USA (NABBA, USA) agreed to participate. Thus, the sample used in this project is a non-probability sample. The use of a purposive sample is appropriate for these purposes because the investigation was focused on a specialized population, i.e. amateur bodybuilders (Kalton, 1983; Kish, 1965).
Measures
Self-Esteem. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (1979) was used to measure global self-esteem. The scale consists of 10 items answered on a five-point Likert scale from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'. Negative items were reverse coded so that a high score continued to indicate high self-esteem. The possible range for this scale is 10 to 50. Consistent with previous research, the internal reliability for this scale within the current study was high-alpha = .82 (see Wylie, 1979 and Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991). This measure was chosen because it has been used-and continues to be used-among various populations and is widely accepted as having good psychometric properties (Baker & Gallant, 1984; Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991).
Social Structural Variables. Gender was measured by having respondents select 'male' or 'female'. Race was measured by having respondents select from the following categories: African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, Native American, and Other. Social class was measured by combining respondents' level of education and total household income. Respondents indicated their highest level of education by responding to the following categories: 'less than high school', 'high school', 'some college', 'technical school', 'B.A./B.S.', 'some graduate work', 'M.A./M.S.', 'Ph.D.' or 'professional degree'. Total household income was measured in $10,000 increments. The participants responded to the categories: under $10,000, $10,001-$20,000, $20,001-$30,000 and so on. The scores for both of these items were then combined to create a single score where a higher score indicates a higher social class. The possible range for this scale is 2 to 18. This variable is used as a continuous variable, not differentiating specifically between social classes.
Procedures
A complete and current list of the entire national membership of NABBA, USA was obtained from the president of the organization in late June of 1998; this list contained 615 members. A mail survey was conducted using Dillman (1978) as a guide. Following Dillman, a pre-mailing postcard was initially sent, a cover letter from the president of the organization was included with the mailed instrument, with a follow-up mailing being implemented in order to obtain a better response rate.
Specifically, in early September of 1998, 615 postcards were sent to the members of NABBA, USA informing them of the project and that they would be receiving a survey within a week or so about their participation in bodybuilding. A week after sending out the postcards, the instrument was sent to all 615 members of NABBA, USA including a cover letter from the president of NABBA, USA as well as a cover letter from the researcher introducing the project again, informing them of their rights as possible respondents, and requesting their participation in the project. Four weeks after sending out the first wave of the instrument, 120 responses were received-about 20% of the sample. As such, a second wave of the instrument was sent to the NABBA, USA membership roughly five weeks after the first wave. Instruments were received from respondents for about four weeks after the second mailing, then the responses dropped off. Given financial constraints, a third wave of instruments was not distributed. Due to a number of 'dead' addresses, the practical sampling universe was lowered from 615 to 553. A total of 193 instruments were returned, 190 of which were usable, yielding a 35% response rate. Thus, 190 subjects took part in the study.
To obtain the comparison groups, a Boolean search using the terms 'Rosenberg' and 'self-esteem' was conducted of the database Sociological Abstracts 1963-present. This search produced 67 entries. The search was further limited by excluding association papers and dissertation abstracts containing insufficient data for the purposes here. These limitations yielded a total of 56 articles. The abstracts were then screened, with entries using subjects under the age of 18 being excluded. Following these stipulations, a total of 22 entries remained. The articles were then further screened for the application of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSE). Hence, if a Guttman scale was used, or if no group means were reported, the article was deleted. This final screening process yielded a total of 7 remaining articles. The resulting groups from these articles were listed as 'smokers', 'the elderly', 'military individuals', 'women formerly on welfare', and 'college students'.
Limitations
In considering the conclusions drawn from the study's findings as discussed in the upcoming section, one must reflect on the limitations of this study. There are at least two areas of concern: firstly, the use of non-random sampling and the comparison groups used in the analyses. The most serious limitation of non-probability sampling is the fact that its use limits the application of statistical theory to examining the properties of the sample estimators (Kalton, 1983; Kish, 1965). While this is a limitation, the goal of this preliminary study was to provide more insight into the under-researched field of the global self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders. Considering that self-esteem has never been examined using quantitative measures for this population, the principal goal was exploration not prediction or generalisation consequently, this limitation was not considered destructive of the results obtained.
A second limitation of the study relates to the comparison groups used in the analysis. As previously noted, only those studies where the Rosenberg self-esteem scale was employed and measured with a Likert scale among adult populations, published in English, and registered in Sociological Abstracts 1963-present were used in determining the comparison groups. Hence, one should be aware that other valid and reliable measures of global self-esteem are available as are findings pertaining to other social groups for comparison.

Results
Sample Characteristics
The average age of the respondents was 33.9 years, ranging from 17 to 76 years old, with the standard deviation of the sample being 9.55 years. 72% of the sample was male, and 28% female. The racial make-up of the sample was largely Caucasian (82%), with 11% being African-American, 3% being Native American, 1% being Hispanic, 1% being Asian while 2% declared themselves as 'Other'.
In terms of their education, 16% of the sample had at least a high school education, 29% had some college, 13% went/had been to technical school, 19% had earned a bachelor's degree, 8% had done some graduate work, 12% had earned a master's degree, and 4% had earned a doctorate or its equivalent. The average yearly total household income of the sample was between $40,000 and $60,000, with a mode of between $40,000 and $50,000, and a median between $40,000 and $50,000.
With reference to their bodybuilding activities, the amount of times the respondents had participated in a competition ranged from zero (5%) to sixteen or more times (18%). The modal category of the number of times competed was one to three (33%). Respondents competed at various levels, ranging from local (13%), to state (35%), to national (26%), to international (11%).
Table 1
Two-tailed t-test for difference of bodybuilder group mean and RSE mean
RSE Bodybuilder’s M Arithmetic M
43.48 29.5

t value 31.96
df 186
t significance level .00
n=187
Table 1 reports the self-esteem scores for the bodybuilders as a group. The mean level of self-esteem for this group was 43.48, with a median of 45 and a mode of 50. The standard deviation for this sample was 5.98. The arithmetic mean for the Rosenberg self-esteem scale measured on a five point Likert scale was 29.5. A one-sample two-tailed t-test indicated that the mean level of self-esteem among NABBA, USA members was statistically significantly above the arithmetic mean (p < .00). When taking into account possible differences based on the social structural variable of gender, a two-tailed t-test indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in the self-esteem of males and females in this study, as reported in Table 2.
Table 2
Two-tailed t-test for difference of RSE means by gender
RSE Women Men
M 42.96 43.70

t value .75
df 183
t significance level .46

Women n = 49
Men n =136
Examining the effect of race on self-esteem within the study's sample, a two-tailed t-test indicated that the self-esteem of Non-Whites was not statistically significantly higher than Caucasians' self-esteem (p>.05) as can be seen in Table 3. Table 4 examines the effects of social class. In examining the effect of social class on the level of self-esteem within the study's sample of respondents, a bivariate correlation indicated a non-significant correlation between social class and self-esteem (p>.05). In short, the data indicated that the mean level of self-esteem among this group of bodybuilders was statistically significantly above the arithmetic mean. When gender, race, and social class were examined as mitigating variables, the mean of the bodybuilders' self-esteem remained above the arithmetic mean. As such, hypothesis one was not supported by the data.
Table 3
Two-tailed t-test for difference of RSE means by race
RSE Caucasians Non-Whites

M 43.15 45.30

t value 1.90
df 182
t significance level .06

Caucasians n =151
Non-Whites n =33
Table 4
Zero order correlation between social class and self-esteem
Social Class x Self-Esteem .13 p =.08
n = 172
The data in Table 5 tests the second hypothesis. As can be seen in Table 5, for all other comparison groups where self-esteem was measured using the RSE with a Likert-type scale, the bodybuilders' self-esteem was found to be statistically significantly above the mean of all the comparison groups (p< .05) with the exception of military women. Consequently, hypothesis two was not supported by the data.
Table 5
Two-tailed t-tests for difference in comparison group means and bodybuilder group mean on self-esteem
Author Comparison Group M RSE t-value t-sig
Defleur & Warner 1985a Military men (650) 42.3 2.70 .01
Military women (330) 44.41 -2.12 .04
Civilian men (1310) 41.19 5.24 .00
Civilian women (930) 39.81 8.39 .00
DeMan and Beniot 1982a Women Feminists (31) 42.38 2.53 .01
Men (31) 42.5 2.24 .03
Women Traditionalists (31) 38.7 10.93 .00
(French-Canadians)
Elliott 1996a Women 1980 (3,076) 40.51 6.79 .00
Women 1987 (3,076) 42.08 3.20 .00
(Economically disadvantaged white women)
Kowalski 1997a Adult smokers (50) 37.75 13.10 .00
Adult non-smokers (25) 42.38 2.53 .01
Lee and Shehan 1989a Men 55+ yrs (1,395) 38.46 11.48 .00
Women 55+ yrs (1,609) 38.40 11.62 .00
(Residents of Washington State)
Rowley, et. al. 1998b African-American (176) 40.9 5.90 .00
(College Students)
Singelis, et. al. 1999b U.S. Euro-Americans (232) 40.8 6.13 .00
Hawaii Asian Am. (146) 39.4 9.33 .00
Hong Kong Chinese (271) 36.9 15.05 .00
(College Students)
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate number of cases. a In these articles RSE was measured using a 4 point Likert scale. The numbers reported here were converted to a 5 point Likert scale to make a direct comparison. bThe authors reported the RSE group means divided by the number of items in the scale (10) for ease of interpretation in their studies. For ease of interpretation here, and to make direct comparisons with other groups, the RSE group means for these studies were multiplied by the number of items in the scale (10).
Both the hypotheses received no support from the data. Indeed, the findings were positively contrary to the predictions made in the hypotheses. Thus, the bodybuilders' global self-esteem was statistically significantly above the mean for the scale used, even when considering race, class, and gender. Furthermore, the bodybuilders' self-esteem was statistically significantly above the mean of all but one of the comparison groups.

Discussion
This project was designed to examine some questions and test related hypotheses regarding the self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders. Given the scant research conducted on bodybuilders concerning self-esteem, this largely explorative project examined this construct using a well-known quantitative measure of global self-esteem (RSE) using a larger population than had been previously undertaken. Two main avenues of investigation were pursued, firstly, to add to the understanding of the self-esteem of amateur bodybuilders, and secondarily, to compare the self-esteem of this group of bodybuilders with other social groups. Below, the findings are summarized, speculations regarding the findings are discussed, and some directions for future research proposed.
The data that resulted from testing the two hypotheses among 190 NABBA, USA members provided no support for the hypotheses. The findings of the study thus concluded that in comparison to the arithmetic mean of the RSE and in comparison with other social groups similarly measured, the bodybuilders in this sample did not exhibit low levels of self-esteem. On the contrary, the amateur bodybuilders in this study exhibited a moderate to high level of self-esteem. This finding contradicts the existing literature on this topic among bodybuilders.
At least two avenues of explanation can be offered regarding these findings. One explanation as to why the findings of this study differed so drastically from previous work is that the respondents in this study were amateur bodybuilders, whereas the bodybuilders studied in previous work were almost exclusively professionals or elite amateur competitors. A second possible explanation is selection bias. These lines of discussion are addressed below.
In relation to the former tentative explanation offered, recall that most of the respondents in this sample (33%) had competed only between one and three times. Further, only 26% of the sample had competed at the national level. In addition to recognizing their scant participation in national competitions, it is useful to understand the structure of professional and amateur bodybuilding in the United States and worldwide in this respect. Professional bodybuilders who want to make money and obtain profitable endorsements on the world market join the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) (Lowe, 1998). The IFBB is a closed organization, which designates one amateur bodybuilding organization per country as its amateur affiliate (Lowe, 1998). In the United States, that designate is the National Physique Committee (NPC) (Lowe, 1998). To be eligible to become a professional, one must either be "the overall winner of the NPC USA championships…[or one of]…the three weight class winners of the national championship" (Lowe, 1998, p.62). Consequently, the participants in this study-who belonged to the NABBA, USA, and not the NPC-did not appear to be moving in the direction of professional status. Given that the majority of respondents in this study had competed so few times, at relatively low levels of competition, and did not belong to the amateur bodybuilding organization that is the most direct route to professional status, the argument can be made that the respondents constituted, in large part, amateurs who were not at the elite level of their sport and/or did not have an interest in participating as professionals. As such, it may be that the level of involvement in the sport influences self-esteem. There are two dimensions to this argument: body image and financial dependence.
The activity of bodybuilding itself invites participants to be highly critical of their physical appearance. The level of physical excellence required for competition is extremely difficult to achieve, and impossible to maintain over time (Bolin, 1992). As such, much of the time the bodybuilder does not meet his or her physical ideal-if it is ever achieved. Thus, it may be that professional and elite amateur bodybuilders are generally not satisfied with their body image. Prior research has focused on the discrepancy between the 'real body image' and the 'ideal body image' as a source of lowered self-esteem; that is, the greater the discrepancy between real and ideal body image the lower the self-esteem (Johnson & Petrie, 1995). Given that the 'ideal' is only temporarily met for bodybuilders, this process of comparison may lead to lowered levels of self-esteem among professional and elite amateur bodybuilders whose sense of self worth is more likely to depend upon their physical appearance, but may not have a similar effect on amateur bodybuilders whose sense of self worth may not be similarly dependent.
In a related area of research, dissatisfaction with body image is documented as being positively correlated with low self-esteem (Abell & Richards, 1996; Gray, 1993; Monteach & McCabe, 1997; Thomas, 1989; Usmiani & Daniluk, 1997). These findings may also inform the results presented here. It may be that the difference in participation level (from elite amateur or professional to low-level amateur) may influence expectations of one's body and therefore impact global self-esteem. In a piece of related research, Guthrie, Ferguson, and Grimmett (1994) studied 13 female bodybuilders at various levels, assessing their eating habits and body image. They found "very positive body images among the sample of bodybuilders" (Guthrie, et. al., 1994, p.275). The authors do not report what percentage of the sample were amateurs, yet knowing that some amateurs were included in the study lends support to the argument that satisfaction with body image among bodybuilders is somewhat dependent upon level of participation in the sport. Additionally, Klein (1986; 1993) reports that the professional bodybuilders in his sample suffered from a poor body image, which further adds credence to the current argument.
Furthermore, the mind-set imposed with regard to physical appearance by elite amateur and professional bodybuilding has been compared with anorexia (Bordo, 1993; Klein, 1993; Pope, Katz, & Hudson, 1993). For both the anorexic and the elite amateur or professional bodybuilder, the individual visualizes what he or she wants his or her body to look like, then works to create that form (Bordo, 1993). Anorexics, like elite amateur and professional bodybuilders, have been shown to exhibit low levels of self-esteem (Boskind-Loodahl, 1976; Button, Sonuga-Baqrke, & Thompson, 1996; Joiner & Kashubeck, 1996). Thus, once again, the disjuncture between the real body image and the ideal body image may be a source of lowered self-esteem. This suggests that the mechanisms involved in sculpting one's body to meet an ideal are similar and that both may create low levels of self-esteem among elite amateur and professional bodybuilders aiming to achieve this ideal.
In an extension of this line of research, Pope, Katz, and colleagues have focused on a disorder they term "reverse anorexia," where "individuals...believed that they looked small and weak, even though they were large and muscular" (Pope & Katz, 1994, p.380). This disorder is built on the discrepancy between ideal and real body image (Pope, Katz & Hudson, 1993). Although their work does not examine the effects of this disorder on self-esteem, it is reasonable to assume, based on the related research addressed above, that low self-esteem could be associated with reverse anorexia.
A second dimension of this explanation, based upon level of participation, is the financial dependence predicated on the professional bodybuilder's physique that is not similarly dependent for amateurs. Klein (1993), in his study of the bodybuilding subculture, discussed the struggles of the professional bodybuilder. Included in his discussion is the battle of the bodybuilder to maintain his or her status as a professional. He described a very cut-throat market where "only a select few can manage access to whatever fame and fortune the sports moguls offer" (Klein 1993, p.51). Added to this is the financial aspect of making a living through bodybuilding, as the monetary prizes for winning bodybuilding competitions are quite low when compared with other professional sports. Thus, many professional bodybuilders rely on other jobs to pay their bills because of the unstable income of professional bodybuilding (Klein, 1993). This extremely competitive environment coupled with the financial uncertainty of professional bodybuilding may also add to the lower levels of self-esteem found in other studies.
Future research should examine the self-esteem of professional, elite amateur, and lower-level amateur bodybuilders to compare the construct at different levels of this sport. In addition, the issues of body image and financial insecurity linked to one's physique should also be taken into account as a possible mitigating factor influencing the global self-esteem of bodybuilders.
A second explanation for the contradictory findings is the issue of selection bias. Given that only 35% of the total NABBA, USA membership responded to the study, it is unknown what the global self-esteem is of the rest of the population. It is possible that only those with a positive sense of self responded to the survey; those that did not answer the survey may have opted out of participating in the study because of their low self-esteem. As such, future research should attempt to obtain a larger, possibly random sample of the bodybuilding population at multiple levels to either confirm or refute the current findings.
It is also recommended that future work should go beyond the self-esteem of bodybuilders (both professional and amateur) to examine other aspects of the bodybuilder's self-concept. One other aspect of the self, related to self-esteem, which may also be implicated in the bodybuilder's view of self, is the concept of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to one's sense of self-mastery, competence, or power (Bandura, 1977; Gecas, 1982; 1989). For the bodybuilder, control over the body itself may bring a sense of power. For example, Klein (1993) reports that the women in his project felt "a strong sense of security and control achieved by adhering to the monastic, somewhat obsessive regimen of contest preparation" (p.89). He also reports that these women place importance on "power and self-mastery" (Klein, 1993, p.88). Similarly, Lowe (1998), in her study of professional female bodybuilders, concluded that bodybuilders have extensive control over their bodies. Finally, Heywood (1998) similarly found that "bodybuilding can function...as a declaration of independence" (p.156). These statements suggest that bodybuilders may experience moderate or high levels of self-efficacy as a result of their participation in the activity of bodybuilding. This aspect of the self should be an avenue for future exploration.
A second aspect of the self that should be explored among bodybuilders is role authenticity. Role authenticity has been defined as feeling real in a role (Benson & Trew, 1995; Reid, Epstein, & Benson, 1993; 1994). Research on the concept of role authenticity has not been explicitly conducted on bodybuilders; however, prior research indicates that bodybuilding is, for some, an authentic role (Guthrie, et. al., 1994). For example, one professional female bodybuilder said of bodybuilding: "it's [bodybuilding] made me freer to be who I really am..." (Guthrie, et. al., 1994, p.277). Given the importance of role authenticity to the self, it is another meaningful aspect of the self that should be explored. These and other issues should be the focus of future research on the self-concept of amateur and professional bodybuilders.

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Authors note
The data used in this study emanate from my doctoral dissertation carried out under the direction of Dr. D.E. Benson. I thank Dr. Benson for his help to date and for his continued guidance. I also thank the anonymous reviewers of sosol for their helpful suggestions in improving the quality of this manuscript.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the author at: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Radford University, Radford, VA 24141, U.S.A.; e-mail: jmekolic@radford.edu

Research Article: Amateur Bodybuilders' Self-Concept

Amateur bodybuilders’ self-concept: An exploratory examinationJeanne Mekolichick
Radford University
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Radford, Virginia 24142
jmekolic@radford.edu
Key Words: Self-Esteem; Self-Efficacy; Identity, Authenticity; Self- Concept; Bodybuilders
Abstract
This study quantitatively examined the self-concept of amateur bodybuilders. Using the membership of the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association, obtained via mail survey, three hypotheses were advanced concerning the self-concept of amateur bodybuilders: (1) The more important the bodybuilder identity is to the respondent, the higher the degree of authenticity felt for that identity. (2) The more important the bodybuilder identity is to the respondent, the higher the degree of authenticity felt for that identity, and the higher the degree of self-efficacy experienced by the individual. (3) The more important the bodybuilder identity is to the respondent, the higher the degree of authenticity felt for that identity, and the higher the degree of global self-esteem experienced by the individual. Employing bivariate correlation and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression the data indicate support for hypothesis 1 (p < .01) and partial support for hypotheses 2 and 3. For hypothesis 2, authenticity and the importance of the bodybuilder identity are both significant predictors of self-efficacy (p < .01 and p < .05 respectively), but the importance of the bodybuilder identity is negatively related to self-efficacy. For hypothesis 3, authenticity and the importance of the bodybuilder identity are both significant predictors of global self-esteem (p < .01 and p < .05 respectively), but the importance of the bodybuilder identity is again negatively related to self-esteem.
1. Introduction
1.1 The self-concept of athletes has been the topic of considerable research, much of which has demonstrated the benefits of sport participation for the self-concept (See for example Trujillo 1983; Young 1997; Ziegler 1991). Of the many different kinds of athletic participation studied, amateur bodybuilding has not been one of them. While bodybuilders have been the focus of recent sociological and anthropological investigations (Aycock, 1992; Balsamo, 1994; Bolin, 1992; Fisher, 1997; Guthrie, Ferguson, & Grimmet, 1994; Heywood, 1998; Klein, 1993; Johnston, 1995; 1996; Lowe, 1998; Mansfield & McGinn, 1993; Mekolichick, 2001; Miller & Penz, 1991; Obel, 1996; Roussel & Griffet, 2000), the investigations on the self-concept of amateur bodybuilders has almost exclusively been on the issue of self-esteem, and none have examined the potential benefits that participation in bodybuilding can have on other aspects of the self-concept. As such, several components of the bodybuilder’s self-concept have yet to be examined and the potential benefits of participation have yet to be assessed. Mekolichick (2001) calls for the examination of the bodybuilder identity, authenticity, and self-efficacy to obtain a better understanding of the self-concept of bodybuilders.
2. Literature review
2.1 Studied aspects of the athlete's self-concept have included self-esteem, identity, and self-efficacy, among others (See for example Donnelly & Young, 1988; Ewald & Jiobu 1985; Hughes & Coakley 1991; McAuley, 1992; Mekolichick 2001). However, research has yet to examine these aspects together within one study to obtain a picture of the athlete's self-concept. The goal of this paper is to examine these elements jointly using amateur bodybuilders. Within social psychology, specifically symbolic interactionism, the self-concept is viewed as consisting of multiple components (Mead, 1934). Generally speaking, the self-concept consists of attitudes (or evaluations) about the self and the content (or identities) that comprise the self(Rosenberg, 1979). Self-evaluations can be further divided into self-esteem, self-efficacy, and authenticity (see Gecas 1986 for a review). As such, most symbolic interactionist theory and research on the self-concept acknowledges four important components of the self: self-esteem, self-efficacy, identities, and authenticity (See Gecas & Burke, 1995 for a review). These four components of the self are the primary emphasis here. Below I discuss each by addressing their conceptualization, relationship to other components of the self, and the research conducted using the component among bodybuilders.
Self-esteem
2.2 Self-esteem refers to one's sense of worth or importance; it is an attitude-positive or negative-held about the self, and includes both cognitive and affective elements (Rosenberg, 1979; Gecas, 1982). Self-esteem continues to be the most studied aspect of the self (Wylie, 1979; Gecas & Burke, 1995). Research on self-esteem demonstrates, among other things, that it is associated with greater well-being, higher achievement, occupational success, and guards one against life’s troubles (Baumeister, 1993; Burns, 1979; Covington, 1992; Luck & Heiss, 1972).
2.3 Fisher (1997), Guthrie, et al. (1994), Klein (1993), and Rousell and Griffet (2000) found bodybuilders to exhibit low self-esteem and feelings of insecurity prior to becoming bodybuilders. The authors argue that a lack of self-esteem and feelings of insecurity drew these individuals into bodybuilding, where a sense of self-mastery and control over one’s body is sought to compensate for perceived deficiencies. Klein (1993) discusses the low self-esteem and insecurities among professional male and female bodybuilders as rooted in overcoming some personal flaw, physical deficiency, or a defective relationship with one’s parents. Roussel and Griffett (2000) concur with Klein by arguing that feelings of insecurity brought the women studied to bodybuilding. Rousell and Griffett (2000) found that bodybuilders are both socially and culturally alienated, while at the same time find self-realization as members of the bodybuilding community. Fisher (1997) uses a social identity perspective to frame her study of how elite female bodybuilders construct gender identity. She found that the bodybuilders were highly motivated and achievement-oriented, but driven by a sense of inadequacy.
2.4 In short, the qualitative literature largely finds that bodybuilders have low self-esteem. However, one study conducted on amateur bodybuilders (Mekolichick, 2001), using a quantitative orientation, found moderate to high levels of self-esteem among the study’s participants.
Self-efficacy
2.5 Self-efficacy refers to one's sense of self-mastery, competence, or power (Bandura, 1977; Gecas, 1982; 1989). This component of the self-concept refers to one's basic perception regarding how much control they have in their life; essentially it is an assessment of self-competence. That is, if people have a high degree of self-efficacy, they believe that they are competent enough to achieve the ends they desire and avoid the ones they do not. Current theory and research on the concept of self-efficacy suggests that the consequences of a feeling of self-efficacy are beneficial for individual functioning and well-being, such as providing a buffer between stress and depression (Pearlin, Menaghan, Morton, & Mullan, 1981). In general, high self-efficacy has been associated with positive health benefits (See Gecas & Burke, 1995 for a review).
2.6 There is substantial evidence suggesting that self-esteem and self-efficacy are highly and positively interrelated (Gecas & Schwalbe, 1983; Staples, Schwalbe, & Gecas, 1984; Gecas, 2001). That is, if a person increases his or her sense of competence, it is likely that this will also increase their sense of worth, and vice versa.
2.7 For the bodybuilder, control over the body itself may bring a sense of power and therefore be an activity where self-efficacious experiences are available. While this component of the self has not been specifically examined among bodybuilders, many qualitative comments suggest that participation in bodybuilding has lead many to experience self-efficacy (Fisher, 1997; Heywood, 1998; Klein, 1993). Further illustrating the relationship between self-esteem and self-efficacy, Roussel and Griffett (2000), Klein (1993), and Guthrie et. al. (1994) reported that the bodybuilders in their studies felt an increase in their perception of self-worth and feeling a sense of self-mastery after becoming a bodybuilder.Fisher (1997), however, did not find an increase in self-esteem after engaging in bodybuilding.
2.8 Klein (1993) acknowledges that [t]here is a strong sense of security and control that is achieved by adhering to the monastic, somewhat obsessive regimen of contest preparation...and social bonding of like-minded questers...[and that] the narcissism found in mirroring and grandiose displays of self actually serve to elevate esteem to a point where the bodybuilder can harness in the development of a more secure sense of self (p. 177-178).
2.9 In short, prior research suggests that bodybuilding may be an important activity within which one can experience self-efficacy, and that the self-efficacy fostered through participation in this experience may also influence other aspects of the self, particularly self-esteem, as is demonstrated above.
Identity
2.10 The third component of the self-concept are ‘role-identities’, or simply ‘identities’. Identities are the various positions one holds in society (Mead, 1934). Individuals are understood to have multiple identities that constitute, in part, the self. Not all of the positions we hold in society are equally valued, however. Some of these positions are more important to how we view our self than others (McCall & Simmons, 1978; James, 1890; Rosenberg, 1979). One conceptualization of how identities are organized according to importance is psychological centrality. Rosenberg and Pearlin (1978, p. 67) describe it as such:
Some elements of the self-concept are at the center of attention, at the heart of the individual's major concerns, others are at the periphery….Thus, the impact of any given component on global self-esteem will depend on its importance or unimportance, centrality or periphery, in the individual's cognitive structure.
Accordingly, those identities that are highly valued --those that are more central to how we see ourselves-- are more likely to have a greater impact on our general sense of self (global self-esteem) (See Ervin & Stryker, 2001 for a review). Thus, as we perform those important roles, we develop a sense of worth and competence about our self.
Role-authenticity
2.11 Sense of authenticity, refers to the sense that one feels significance and derives meaning from the roles one enacts (Erickson, 1995; Gecas, 1982; Turner, 1976; Turner & Billings, 1991). Role-authenticity, the fourth component of the self-concept, is a more specific concept than ‘authenticity’. Role-authenticity is the sense of feeling ‘real’ when enacting a particular role; that the performance of a role reflects ‘who they really are’ (Benson & Trew, 1995; Reid, Epstein, & Benson, 1993; 1994). Theory and research on role-authenticity suggest that role-authenticity has consequences for perceived behavior and is related to the importance of the role being studied (Reid, et al, 1993 Benson & Trew 1995; Gecas 1986; 1991). Research on the concept of role-authenticity has not been explicitly conducted on bodybuilders; however, prior research on the self-concept may indicate that bodybuilding is, for some, an authentic role (Fisher, 1997; Guthrie, et al., 1994; Roussel & Griffet, 2000).
2.12 The degree of authenticity felt for a role is proposed to be positively related to the importance of the identity for that individual (Benson & Trew 1995; Gecas 1986; 1991). So, the more important the role, the more authentic one feels about enacting that role, and vice versa. And, by extension, the more efficacious and worthy one feels about who they are. Research has found that the importance of an identity, measured as psychological centrality, is positively related to feelings of authenticity associated with that identity (Reid et. al., 1994; 1993). However, research has yet to examine the relationship between a central and authentic identity, and the association with global self-esteem and self-efficacy.
2.13 A significant amount of evidence demonstrates the inter-relationship between one's general sense of worth and competence. Theory and research also demonstrate that identities that are more important to one's sense of self will have a greater impact on one's sense of worth and competence. The degree to which important identities that are consistent with core values of the self, the greater impact those identities will have on one's general sense of worth and competence.Thus, while the studies reviewed above are instructive and examine some particular aspects of the self, they have not produced systematic data regarding bodybuilders’ sense of authenticity in the role of bodybuilder, nor have they quantitatively examined the relationships between the impact of this potentially important, authentic role and its relationship with global self-esteem and self-efficacy.
2.14 The goal of this paper is to provide an exploratory study of amateur bodybuilders’ self-concept and the salutary impact that the bodybuilding activity can have on one's self-concept. While research on participation in other sports has demonstrated positive effects on the self-concept, none have provided a cohesive picture of the athlete's self-concept and none have examined amateur bodybuilders.
2.15 Three hypotheses concerning amateur bodybuilders’ self concept are examined. These hypotheses are:
1. The more important the bodybuilder identity is to the respondent, the higher the degree of authenticity felt for the bodybuilder identity.
2. The more important the bodybuilder identity is to the respondent, the higher the degree of authenticity felt for that identity, and the higher the degree of self-efficacy experienced by the individual.
3. The more important the bodybuilder identity is to the respondent, the higher the degree of authenticity felt for that identity, and the higher the degree of global self-esteem experienced by the individual.
3. Methods
Subjects
3.1 Five national amateur bodybuilding organizations in the United States were contacted regarding their participation in the study. Only one organization, the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association, USA (NABBA, USA) agreed to participate. Thus, the sample used in this study is a non-probability sample. The use of a purposive sample is appropriate here because the investigation was focused on a specialized population (i.e. amateur bodybuilders) and this study is exploratory in nature (Kalton, 1983; Kish, 1965).
3.2 A complete and current list of the entire national membership of NABBA, USA was obtained from the president of the organization in late June of 1998; this list contained 615 members. A mail survey was conducted using Dillman (1978) as a guide. Following Dillman, a pre-mailing postcard was initially sent in early September of 1998.One week later, a cover letter from the president of the organization was included with the mailed instrument. Four weeks later a second wave of the instrument was sent out. Given financial constraints, a third wave of instruments was not distributed. Due to a number of 'dead' addresses, the practical sampling universe was lowered from 615 to 553. A total of 193 instruments were returned, 190 of which were usable, yielding a 35% response rate. Thus, 190 subjects took part in the study.
Measures
3.3 Self-esteem. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (1979) was used to measure global self-esteem. The scale consists of 10 items answered on a five-point Likert scale from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'. Negative items were reverse coded so that a high score indicates high self-esteem. The possible range for this scale is 10 to 50. The mean for this sample is 43.37 with a standard deviation of 6.01. Consistent with previous research, the internal reliability for this scale within the current study was high-alpha = .82 (see Wylie,1979; Blascovich & Tomaka,1991).
3.4 Self-efficacy. The Pearlin et al. (1981) self-mastery scale was used to measure self-efficacy. The scale consists of 7 items measured on a five-point Likert scale from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'. Negative items were reverse coded so that a high score indicates high self-esteem. The possible range for this scale is 7 to 35. The mean for this sample is 30.02 with a standard deviation of 4.63. The internal reliability for this scale was acceptable (alpha = .75).
3.5 Role-authenticity. Role-authenticity was measured using a three-item scale adapted from Trew and Benson (1996). The scale consists of three items measured on a five-point likert scale. The three items are: “Being a bodybuilder is consistent with my important values." “Deep down, I often feel that being a bodybuilder is not really me.” And, “Most of the time I like thinking of myself as a bodybuilder." Items #1 and #3 were reverse coded. A high number indicates a high level of role-authenticity. In all cases, including the present study, principle components factor analysis with varimax rotation indicated that the three items were loaded on a single factor. The actual range for this scale was 5 to 15. The mean for this sample was 12.36 with a standard deviation of 2.48. Chronbach’s alpha was used to test for internal reliability; alpha = .73 for this scale.
3.6 Psychological centrality. Psychological centrality was measured using a rank order method (Benson & Trew 1995; Trew & Benson 1996).This approach presents the respondent with a number of identities believed to be important to the sample being tested. The identities: “bodybuilder,” “parent,” “significant other/spouse," "worker/career person" were presented to the respondent in alphabetical order.
3.7 Then, respondents were instructed to think about which of the identities was the most important to how they think about themselves and to rank the identities from the most important identity on the list to the least important on the list.Twenty percent of the sample ranked the identity of bodybuilder as their most important, followed by 26%, 24%, and 29% respectively. The list was then reverse coded for ease of interpretation for the current analysis; high numbers were indicative of high rank.
4. Results
Sample Characteristics
4.1 The average age of the respondents was 33.9 years, ranging from 17 to 76 years old, with the standard deviation of the sample being 9.55 years. 72% of the sample was male, and 28% female. The racial make-up of the sample was largely Caucasian (82%), with 11% being African-American, 3% being Native American, 1% being Hispanic, 1% being Asian while 2% declared themselves as 'Other'.
4.2 In terms of their education, 16% of the sample had at least a high school education, 29% had some college, 13% went/had been to technical school, 19% had earned a bachelor's degree, 8% had done some graduate work, 12% had earned a master's degree, and 4% had earned a doctorate or its equivalent. The average yearly total household income of the sample was between $40,000 and $60,000, with a mode of between $40,000 and $50,000, and a median between $40,000 and $50,000.
4.3 With reference to their bodybuilding activities, the amount of times the respondents had participated in a competition ranged from zero (5%) to sixteen or more times (18%). The modal category of the number of times competed was one to three (33%). Respondents competed at various levels, ranging from local (13%), to state (35%), to national (26%), to international (11%).
4.4 Hypothesis 1 was tested using Pearson's zero-order correlation (see Table 1). The results indicated a significant positive relationship between importance of the bodybuilder identity to the self and sense of feeling real in the role of bodybuilder (r = .210, p < .01); hypothesis 1 is supported by the data. Thus, the more central an identity is to one's sense of self, the more likely that enacting that identity will produce a sense of authenticity.
4.5 Hypothesis 2 was tested using OLS regression analysis. As can be seen in Table 2, hypothesis 2 was partially supported by the data. Authenticity and the importance of the bodybuilder identity were both found to be significant predictors of self-efficacy, but the importance of the bodybuilder identity was negatively related to self-efficacy; this is in the opposite direction proposed by the hypothesis.
4.6 Hypothesis 3 was also tested using OLS regression. As can be seen in Table 3, authenticity and the importance of the bodybuilder identity were both found to be significant predictors of global self-esteem, but the importance of the bodybuilder identity was again negatively related to self-esteem.
4.7 In an attempt to explain the contrary findings, further analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between the identities studied. Bivariate correlations between both the parent identity ( r = -.510, p < .001) and the spouse/significant other ( r = .-420, p < .001) identity were negatively and significantly related to the bodybuilder identity. In addition, the parent identity was significantly and positively related to global self-esteem (r = .263, p < .01), thus possibly suggesting a methodological artifact created from the measurement technique which is discussed below
4.8 The correlation analysis and OLS regression provide support for hypotheses 1 and partial support for hypotheses 2 and 3. The more central the role of bodybuilder is to the sense of self for the respondent, the more authentic the respondent feels in the role of bodybuilder. In addition, the more authentic the role of bodybuilder is for the respondent, the higher the degree of self-efficacy and global self esteem felt by respondents; however, the degree of importance of the bodybuilder identity was significantly and negatively related to the degree of self-efficacy and self-esteem. So, it appears that no matter how central the bodybuilder identity was for the respondents, the more authentic they felt enacting the bodybuilding role, and the more they felt worthy and competent in general.
5. Discussion
5.1 Overall, these findings suggest that participation in amateur bodybuilding is beneficial to one's sense of self and provide a clearer picture of the athlete’s self-concept. The importance of the role-identity of bodybuilder positively and significantly influences the degree of authenticity felt by enacting the role of bodybuilder. The degree of authenticity felt by enacting the role-identity of bodybuilder is an important predictor of both the sense of efficacy felt by respondents and their sense of global self-esteem. Thus, enacting the bodybuilding role provides meaning and fulfillment in the lives of these athletes which affect their feelings of competence and worth.
5.2 However, the importance of the bodybuilder identity is negatively related to the experience of self-efficacy and global self-esteem. The fact that psychological centrality was significantly and positively related to role-authenticity, yet significantly and negatively related to both self-efficacy and global self-esteem is an unexpected finding. These findings may be due to several factors. First, by examination of the identity rankings presented above, one will notice the low number of respondents that ranked bodybuilder as their most important identity (20%). In fact, the distributions of the rankings were fairly evenly distributed among the four categories, and the modal category for the bodybuilder ranking was ranked last (29%). As such, the low number of respondents ranking bodybuilder as central to their sense of self could possibly explain the negative relationship between identity importance and global worth and competence.
5.3 A second, and related issue, is the fact that the ranking of identities clearly sets up competition among them. The respondents were asked to rank the importance of their bodybuilder identity against the identities of parent, spouse/significant other, and career person/worker-other potentially important identities in one's life. Given the role-identities that the bodybuilder identity was competing against, it is not surprising that the bodybuilder identity was preceded in importance by the other identities. However, the significant negative relationship between global sense of self and identity ranking may be a methodological artifact. Meaning that, based on how the concepts were measured, the importance of the bodybuilder identity has a smaller impact on the global sense of worth and competence relative to the other identities included in the study, and not a negative effect. This is a similar methodological problem encountered by researchers attempting to examine the relative impact of identity importance and role-specific self-esteem on global self-esteem (See Ervin & Stryker [2001] for further discussion). Thus, the bodybuilder identity's relative importance has a lesser impact on one's sense of global self-esteem and self-efficacy because other, decidedly more important identities contribute much more to the general sense of self relative to the contribution of the bodybuilder identity. In fact, further analyses, discussed above, show significant, negative correlations between both the parent identity and the bodybuilder identity as well as the spouse/significant other identity and the bodybuilder identity. Moreover, the parent identity is significantly and positively related to global self-esteem, thus lending partial support to this claim. Weiss (2001) also notes the potential for competition between sport identities and those from other domains.
5.4 Third, if the bodybuilder identity is authentic and one's sense of authenticity in the role of bodybuilder is positively and significantly related to one's global sense of worth and competence, why is the importance of the identity negatively related to one's sense of global worth and competence? The answer to this question could lie in the relationships among identities within the self structure. Thoits (1986; 1992) and Benson (1993) each noted the importance of investigating identity configurations. Few studies, however, have been conducted examining more than one identity at a time (Benson & Trew, 1995; Mekolichick, 2002; Trew & Benson 1996). Mekolichick (2002) found overlap among the meanings of important identities one holds. Given these findings, it is also reasonable to assume that identities can overlap with regard to one's core values. Thus, the core values are likely to be shared among some of our important identities. And, as a consequence, it is possible that one's sense of authenticity in a role-identity may simply be more important to how we view our self in general (global self-esteem and self-efficacy) than how important we rank our identities. In other words, role-authenticity may be a more important predictor of global self-esteem and self-efficacy than psychological centrality. Ervin & Stryker (2001) also suggest a closer examination of the link between importance and global self-esteem. Whatever the cause of these findings, be it the sample distribution, a methodological artifact, the greater importance of authenticity, or the non-probability sample, future research should be conducted on these concepts and examine multiple identities at a time to further explain this relationship.
5.5 In considering the conclusions drawn, one must reflect on the limitations of this study. There are at least two areas of concern: the use of non-random sampling and response rate. First, with the exploration of identity processes as the goal, the focus here is not on prediction or generalizability to the whole population. This study is an exploratory analysis and, as such, the use of convenience sampling is not destructive to the results obtained. Second, with the response rate for the study at 35 percent, only about a third of the subjects surveyed responded to the questionnaire. A higher response rate would have been desirable. This introduces the issue of selection bias. It is unknown if the respondents who responded to the questionnaire differ from those who did not. However, one might suggest that those who responded to the questionnaire considered the identity of bodybuilder to be more important to their sense of self than those who did not. As such, the issue of selection bias would not affect the findings. However, this is mere conjecture and cannot be tested.
5.6 These limitations not withstanding, at least two other implications can be drawn from the study findings. First, role-authenticity appears to be an important aspect of self-concept and should be explored in concert with other important components of the self, among other sporting populations, and using other athletic identities. Role-authenticity has been found elsewhere (Benson & Trew 1995) to be a mediating component between commitment and evaluation of the group to which the identity belongs. Thus, role-authenticity may behave differently in the self-concept of athletes participating in more marginalized sports that are not evaluated as positively as more mainstream sports. In addition, role-authenticity may behave differently in the self-concepts of athletes in individual sports versus team sports.
5.7 Further exploration of the relationship between the centrality of an identity and one's sense of authenticity should also be conducted among different athletic identities and using different sporting populations--particularly given the findings of this study. Role-authenticity appears to be an important component in influencing one's sense of self. As the literature suggests, we should also examine the influence of role-authenticity on behavioral outcomes, such as the amount of time spent weight training, conditioning, or practicing one's sport.
5.8 These and other theoretically important areas of investigation should now be the subject of future research on the bodybuilder self-concept as well as the self-concept of other athletes at various levels of participation. A growing literature has found that participation in a sport that individuals define as important to who they are can have a salutary impact on their general sense of self. Consequently, further examination of these beneficial effects should be explored. Furthermore, based on the analysis presented herein, more research on the interaction among multiple aspects of the self-concept is desirable and necessary for the extension of understanding the athlete’s self-concept.

Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Intercorrelations for All Study Variables (N = 180)
Variable M SD 1 2 3 4
1. Role-Authenticity 12.36 2.48 -- .210 ** .321** .274**
2. Psychological Centrality 3.41 1.12 -- -.081 -.094
3. Self-Efficacy 30.02 4.63 -- .652**
4. Global Self-Esteem 43.37 6.01 --
** p < .01
Table 2: Regression Analysis Summary for Role-Authenticity and Psychological Centrality
Predicting Self-Efficacy
Variable B SEB B
Role-Authenticity .66 .13 .35**
Psychological Centrality -.66 .26 -.16*
Note. R2 = .13 (N = 180).
* = p < .05. ** = p < .01
Table 3: Regression Analysis Summary for Role-Authenticity and Psychological Centrality
Predicting Global Self-Esteem
Variable B SEB B
Role-Authenticity .73 .18 .30**
Psychological Centrality -.90 .39 -.17*
Note. R2 = .13 (N = 180).
* = p < .05. ** = p < .01
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