Examining Attitudes Toward Body Checking, Levels of Emotional Empathy, and Levels of Aggression in Body Checking and Non-Body Checking Youth Hockey Leagues

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Objectives: To determine if attitudes associated with body checking, emotional empathy, and aggression differ between players in body checking and non-body checking hockey leagues and to determine the influence of these attitudes on injury rates. Design: Prospective cohort. Setting: Participants were randomly recruited by team from the Calgary Minor Hockey Association at the beginning of the 2006-2007 season. Participants: There were 283 participants from Pee Wee (aged 11-12 vears), Bantam (aged 13-14 years), and Midget (aged 15-16 years) teams. Of 13 teams from the body checking league, 138 players participated, and of 24 teams in the non-body checking league, 145 players participated. Assessment of Risk Factors: Participants completed 4 self-report questionnaires: (1) Medical Questionnaire, (2) Body Checking Questionnaire, (3) Empathy Index for Children and Adolescents, and (4) Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures: Participants were followed through the season for injury reports. The injury definition included any hockey injury resulting in medical attention, the inability to complete a hockey session, and/or missing a subsequent hockey session. Results: Body checking players reported more positive attitudes toward body checking (35.59; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 34.52-36.65) than non-body checking players (22.43; 95%, CI, 21.38-23.49; t = -1 7.34 P < 0.00005). There was no significant difference in the empathy scores between cohorts (t = 1.51 P = 0.13). The mean aggression score for the body checking players (76.22; 95% CI 73.18-79.25) was significantly higher than the mean for the non-body checking players (70.57; 95% CI, 67.35-73.80; t = -2.52: P = 0.013). Conclusions: Body checking seems to influence attitudes toward body checking and aggression, but attitudes toward body checking, empathy, and aggression did not influence injury rates.