Homophobia and Cohesion in Women's Collegiate Athletics

Purpose

Homophobia is prevalent and pervasive within women's athletics (Blinde & Taub, 1992; Griffin, 1998; Krane, 1997; Wellman & Blinde, 1997). The psychological influence of the intolerant belief systems have on team cohesion has been minimally researched. Forbes, Stevens, and Lathrop (2002) found no relationship between homophobia and social cohesion among female collegiate athletes.

Methods

The intent of the researcher was to determine if a relationship existed between degree of homophobia and team cohesion. Participants (N = 306) consisted of female collegiate athletes from 20 varsity teams, participating in 10 different varsity sports in New England. The participants completed the Homophobia Scale (HS; Wright, Adams, & Bernat, 1999) and the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985). Spearman Rank Correlations were conducted to assess the relationship between the subscales. No significant linear relationships (p > .05) were found between degree of homophobia and level of cohesion.

Analysis/Results

For team (N = 20) aggregate scores a significant negative relationship (r_s = -.52, p = .02) between level of homophobia and the level individual attraction to group social cohesion, such that as the level of homophobia increased, level of individual attraction to the team socially decreased. A significant negative relationship (r_s = -.64, p = .00) between level of homophobia and the task group integration cohesion, such that as the level of homophobia increased, the level of a task group integration decreased. For both individual and team responses, significant linear relationships existed between level of homophobia and level of comfort with lesbian teammates as well as level of cohesion, as measured by the four subscales of the GEQ, and perceived level of cohesion.

Conclusions

The lack of a linear relationship between cohesion and homophobia among individuals suggests that the two constructs may be discrete once athletes enter the sport arena. The surprising teaming findings are somewhat inconclusive, as the range of aggregate team scores were not a representative sample. All teams averaged in the highest quartile for level of homophobia, indicating a high level of acceptance. Also, all teams demonstrated moderate to high levels of cohesion. Further research is needed to examine the link between homophobia and cohesion within the team environment.