Communication differences between male and female team sport athletes

Abstract

Research has been equivocal with respect to sex differences in communication. Although the bulk of the literature suggests that any differences are small to moderate, several characteristics of sport teams suggest that male and female athletes may communicate differently. A sample of 299 athletes (150 female and 148 male) completed the Scale for Effective Communication in Team Sports. Multivariate Analyses of Variance revealed no significant differences between male and female athletes. The researcher concluded that there are no differences between male and female athletes with respect to the frequency of communication of these sports‐specific resources. Considering that the sample and operational definition were selected to maximize the probability of sex differences in communication, this study further supports that males and females communicate similarly.