Abstract
There are competing theories as to why sex differences in sport participation exist. We tested the theory that this disparity is a result of both sociocultural conditions and evolved psychological sex differences. This theory predicts that, on average, participation in sport, especially team sports, should be universally male biased and that men should more strongly agree that a reason for sport participation is to compete, while women should more strongly agree that a reason for sport participation is to improve physical appearance. To test these hypotheses we analyzed the International Social Survey, which interviewed 49,729 individuals (aged 15 years and older) across 34 countries regarding their leisure activities. Controlling for several individual characteristics, males were more likely to report participation in sporting groups (OR=2.03), attendance at sporting events (OR=2.46), that their most frequent participation occurs in team sport (OR=6.30), and that their most frequently observed sport on television is a team sport (OR=2.63). Males were also more likely to agree that a reason for sport participation is to compete (OR=1.752), while females were more likely to agree that a reason for sport participation is to look good (OR=1.44). In conclusion, there is a need to understand how evolved psychological sex differences influence sport participation.Acknowledgments: The first author is supported by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Doctoral Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC 767-2012-1381) and by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the CIHR Training Grant in Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention: A Pan-Canadian Program (Grant #: 53893).