It is presumed that the involvement in sports helps to deter delinquency, yet athletes who seemingly have it all engage in destructive delinquent lifestyles (Savini, 2008). Many theorists contend that the \"jock identity\" or \"sport hubris\" is largely responsible, as people think they will be treated more favorably if they are athletes (Miller et al., 2006). This perception raises the question of whether athletes know and understand the constructs of delinquency. Thus the purpose of this study was to examine male athletes' and non-athletes' perceptions of the minor and major substrates of delinquency. A semi-structured interview was used to gather the delinquency perceptions of 16 southeastern collegiate student athletes and non-athletes. Six themes were identified from the data analysis: (1) Fighting and Illegal Activity, (2) Consequences, (3) Personal Relationships, (4) Athletes Have More To Lose, (5) Invincibility, and (6) Negative Impact of the Media. Topics on how to better understand why certain groups engage in delinquent behavior, and the possible treatments that can be implemented to help deter this behavior were discussed from an existential phenomenological perspective.
","abstract_html":"<p>It is presumed that the involvement in sports helps to deter delinquency, yet athletes who seemingly have it all engage in destructive delinquent lifestyles (Savini, 2008). Many theorists contend that the "jock identity" or "sport hubris" is largely responsible, as people think they will be treated more favorably if they are athletes (Miller et al., 2006). This perception raises the question of whether athletes know and understand the constructs of delinquency. Thus the purpose of this study was to examine male athletes' and non-athletes' perceptions of the minor and major substrates of delinquency. A semi-structured interview was used to gather the delinquency perceptions of 16 southeastern collegiate student athletes and non-athletes. Six themes were identified from the data analysis: (1) Fighting and Illegal Activity, (2) Consequences, (3) Personal Relationships, (4) Athletes Have More To Lose, (5) Invincibility, and (6) Negative Impact of the Media. Topics on how to better understand why certain groups engage in delinquent behavior, and the possible treatments that can be implemented to help deter this behavior were discussed from an existential phenomenological perspective.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nartey, Humphrey"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Health and Kinesiology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brandonn S. Harris","Samuel Todd"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:26:17Z","subjects":["ETD","Delinquency","Athletes","Non-athletes","Kinesiology","Sports Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/41","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brandonn S. Harris","Samuel Todd"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nartey, Humphrey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-07-22T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Health and Kinesiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Delinquency","Athletes","Non-athletes","Kinesiology","Sports Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/41"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["It is presumed that the involvement in sports helps to deter delinquency, yet athletes who seemingly have it all engage in destructive delinquent lifestyles (Savini, 2008). Many theorists contend that the \"jock identity\" or \"sport hubris\" is largely responsible, as people think they will be treated more favorably if they are athletes (Miller et al., 2006). This perception raises the question of whether athletes know and understand the constructs of delinquency. Thus the purpose of this study was to examine male athletes' and non-athletes' perceptions of the minor and major substrates of delinquency. A semi-structured interview was used to gather the delinquency perceptions of 16 southeastern collegiate student athletes and non-athletes. Six themes were identified from the data analysis: (1) Fighting and Illegal Activity, (2) Consequences, (3) Personal Relationships, (4) Athletes Have More To Lose, (5) Invincibility, and (6) Negative Impact of the Media. Topics on how to better understand why certain groups engage in delinquent behavior, and the possible treatments that can be implemented to help deter this behavior were discussed from an existential phenomenological perspective.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Perceptions of Delinquency among Male Athletes and Non-Athletes: A Qualitative Investigation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brandonn S. Harris","Samuel Todd"],"dc:creator":["Nartey, Humphrey"],"dc:date.available":["2013-07-22T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["It is presumed that the involvement in sports helps to deter delinquency, yet athletes who seemingly have it all engage in destructive delinquent lifestyles (Savini, 2008). Many theorists contend that the \"jock identity\" or \"sport hubris\" is largely responsible, as people think they will be treated more favorably if they are athletes (Miller et al., 2006). This perception raises the question of whether athletes know and understand the constructs of delinquency. Thus the purpose of this study was to examine male athletes' and non-athletes' perceptions of the minor and major substrates of delinquency. A semi-structured interview was used to gather the delinquency perceptions of 16 southeastern collegiate student athletes and non-athletes. Six themes were identified from the data analysis: (1) Fighting and Illegal Activity, (2) Consequences, (3) Personal Relationships, (4) Athletes Have More To Lose, (5) Invincibility, and (6) Negative Impact of the Media. Topics on how to better understand why certain groups engage in delinquent behavior, and the possible treatments that can be implemented to help deter this behavior were discussed from an existential phenomenological perspective.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/41"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Delinquency","Athletes","Non-athletes","Kinesiology","Sports Studies"],"dc:title":["Perceptions of Delinquency among Male Athletes and Non-Athletes: A Qualitative Investigation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Health and Kinesiology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:26:17Z"}