Urban African-American Girls’ Participation and Future Intentions Toward Physical Education

Despite the fact that physical education holds great promise for the promotion of public health, urban African American girls’
interest and participation in physical education tends to decline with age. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior and feminist
poststructuralist theory, this study was designed to examine African American girls’ physical education participation and
possible social, cognitive, and motivational factors that drive them away from future intentions toward physical education.
Participants were 168 African American girls (age range = 14–17 years, mean age = 14.7 years) enrolled in three public high
schools from a large urban inner-city school district in the Midwestern United States. Both quantitative and word-data were
collected. Results revealed that participation in physical education played an important role in urban African-American girls’
overall physical activity engagement. However, unfavorable attitudes and lack of perceived support impeded their intentions
toward future enrollment in physical education. Major factors related to their intentions were: anticipated short- and long-term
outcomes, body image concerns, the influence of their mothers, and scheduling conflicts. The findings indicate opportunities
for early intervention.