Abstract
Group norms are behavioural standards expected of group members (Carron & Eys, 2012). Carron (1980) identified two types of factors that influence conformity to norms: personal and situational. Minimal research exists examining the influence of these factors on group norms in sport. The purpose was to investigate youth athletes’ perceptions of group norms in relation to gender (personal factor) and sport type (situational factor). High school athletes (N=427, Mage=15.8 years) from 35 teams completed a survey assessing 9 norms in competition, practice, and social settings (Carron, Prapavessis, & Estabrooks, 1999) at the end of the season. A multilevel analysis was performed for each of the 9 norms with sex, sport type (collision, contact, non-contact) and interaction terms entered at level 2. Females held significantly higher norms for competition productivity and concentration as well as practice productivity and attendance (ps<.05). Interactions terms were significant for practice attendance (p<.05) and approached significance for practice productivity (p=.1). The simple slope analysis revealed that in females only norms for practice attendance and productivity were significantly lower in contact sports (e.g., basketball) in comparison with collision (e.g., lacrosse) and noncontact (e.g., volleyball) sports. Sex and sport type were not significant predictors of norms in social settings. The findings highlight the important role of personal (e.g., sex) and situational (e.g., type of sport) factors for group norms in a youth sport setting.
