GENDER, SPORT, AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR OUTSIDE SPORT

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Abstract
This study focuses on how sports attitudes and participation relate to physical aggression outside sport for college athletes. Data were derived from a survey of nearly 200 male and female athletes at a medium-size (11,500-student) comprehensive university. Physical aggression was measured by an item concerning whether the respondents ever physically harmed or injured other persons outside sport in fights or disagreements. Although exploratory, this study suggests potentially valuable insights about how gender, beliefs in the value of toughness in sport, accidentally or intentionally hurting other athletes in competition, and participation in a team or contact sport relate to physical aggression outside sport. Whereas attitudes, having hurt other athletes, and team and contact sport participation all were related to physical aggression outside sport for male athletes, only participation in a contact sport was related to physical aggression outside sport for female athletes.