International Journal of Sport Psychology

(Cecil & Stanley, 1997; Crocker, Snyder, Kowalski, & Hoar, 2000; Eklund &
Bianco, 2000).
Body issues are especially salient when adolescents are concerned that
their body might not meet others’ expectations (Leary & Kowalski,
1995).When adolescents are unsure whether their desired impressions can
be achieved in settings where social evaluation is salient, they can experience
social anxiety. Social physique anxiety (SPA) is a specific type of social anxiety
where the anxiety experienced by an individual is in response to perceptions
of others' evaluation of his/her physique (Hart, Leary, & Rejeski, 1989).
SPA was originally conceptualized as a trait characteristic (Hart et al., 1989),
and it is correlated with physical factors such as body fat, weight, and height
(Cox, Lantz, & Mayhew, 1997; Crocker et al., 2000; Hart et al., 1989). But
SPA is increasingly being examined at the state level (e.g., Kowalski Mack,
Crocker, Niefer, & Fleming, 2006; Mack, Strong, Kowalski, & Crocker,
2007), suggesting it may also be conceptualized as an emotional state. Furthermore,
trait and state SPA have been found to be moderately correlated (r
= .44; Kowalski et al., 2006) in a sample of adolescents, suggesting that they
are distinct, but related constructs.
The sport environment is a public context that has an inherent focus on
physicality, and therefore is an important domain in which to study SPA.
Simply stated, sport places the physical body on center stage (Greenleaf,
2002), and often leads to the body being objectified as an instrument of performance
and physical attractiveness (Cox & Thompson, 2000). Furthermore,
female athletes have to negotiate the discourse surrounding gender
and heterosexuality that often clash in sport as a result of a desire to be seen
both as physically strong and feminine (Cox & Thompson, 2000). Training
often leads to a more muscular physique that is necessary for high performance,
but it can draw the body further away from feminine ideals and
increase concerns of being viewed as masculine or abnormally strong
(Mosewich, Vangool, Kowalski, & McHugh, 2009). This conflict may resonate
both inside and outside the sport context.
Within sport, individuals may pursue activities that will take them closer
to their ideals, even if it will harm their athletic performance (e.g., restrictive
eating behavior, overtraining, skipping strength programs). Outside of the
sport context, this conflict may arise in situations where the inability to meet
the cultural ideal is amplified (e.g., an athlete may become distressed when
trying on clothes if she finds that most are not designed to fit her muscular
body). This conflict, and experiences of SPA in general, are not confined to
particular types of sports such as aesthetically judged sports (e.g., gymnastics)
or sports in which more revealing attire is worn (e.g., swimming). SPA
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