International Female Perspective on Roller Derby and Body Image

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact participation in roller derby has on body image from an international perspective. An online Qualtrics survey was used to gather data from 814 female skaters from 246 international roller derby leagues. The survey contained quantitative questions from the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) along data such as demographic investigation, importance of roller derby, and the reasons for joining and continuing were analyzed using SPSS software. Basic descriptive analysis was completed. Questions seeking qualitative data were coded initially to identify patterns in the data. Further codifying was completed in order to group data into categories and themes. Based upon the data, a typical respondent was Caucasian, 20 to 40 years of age, married/domestic partnership, and has a post-secondary degree. The null hypothesis was rejected as there was a significant difference when comparing means of the MBSRQ prior to joining and currently.