european college of sport science

Friday, June 26th, 2009
adjustment such as self-esteem. The aim of this study was to compare popularity and assertiveness of athletic pupils with non-athletic
pupils.
Method: To determine which pupils were most liked and qualified to act as class representative a sociometric questionnaire was used.
Sociometry is a quantitative method for measuring social relationships developed by Moreno (3). He developed methods to analyse
interpersonal emotional relationships within a group. His methods can be used to identify informal leaders and social rankings. Pupils
ranked their favourite classmates in the following: neighbour in class, leisure companion, and spokesperson in conflict situations. The five
best and worst athletes in each class were ranked by the respective physical education teachers. The nominations for best or worst
athletes were tabulated (3 points for first ranking, 2 points for second, and so on). The study was conducted in January 2007 in two
schools (one girls’ school, one boys’ school) in western Austria. Data from a sample of 174 adolescents (93 male, 81 female), aged between
12 and 17 in seven different classes were examined.
Results: There was a significant preference of athletic pupils as neighbours (p