There’s an article in Time Magazine from last week, titled, “Girls vs. Boys: The Perils of Competition”. A study has recently come out describing the effects of competition in teenagers. Apparently, high-school senior boys who compete to win or compete to excel (improve personal skills) had no detriment to their mental health or social relationships. However, in girls, those who reported they competed to win had a higher rate of depression and feelings of loneliness, along with fewer friends and social relationships than those girls who do not attempt to outshine others.
This study was very strange to me. I competed in both basketball and track & field in high school, as well as track in college. I was ranked #2 in the state for 400m hurdles in high school, and #5 in the ACC in college. Although I never quite had that cut-throat edge (which may have helped me to excel even more than I did), I considered myself as having a drive to win, as well as to excel personally. I was not depressed, nor did I feel any more lonely than other high school kids trying to find their way in life. The other girls on my team were also competitive, so we had social relationships with each other, and the sport created bonds of friendship we wouldn’t otherwise have had.
The study suggests that motivation to win is typical and socially expected of males, which may be one way of explaining the differences found in the study. I believe it has recently become more socially expected of females, especially as they become more involved in sports at a younger age. The drive to win is natural, and should not be discouraged in girls. Because of previous social expectations, however, we need to pay more attention to their welfare, which may be overlooked in settings where male athletes outnumber the females. There is still a higher risk of injury, which increases as the level of competition increases. Focusing on conditioning, strength training, and balancing/core exercises is essential to helping young girls maintain a competitive level of athleticism while decreasing the risk of injury. Should an injury occur, early recognition and proper orthopedic intervention can often keep them in the game for a long time to come.
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