Unnecessary Roughness? School Sports, Peer Networks, and Male Adolescent Violence (PDF; 518 KB)
Source: American Sociological Review
From press release (Newswise):

For years, proponents of high school athletics have pointed out the positive aspects of youth sports, such as increased bonds to school, self-esteem, achievement, competition, and fair play. However, youth sports have also been marred with high-profile accounts of brawling, sexual assault, and bullying.

New sociological research from Pennsylvania State University, published in the October issue of the American Sociological Review, answers the question, “Are these activities promoting fair play and sportsmanship, or are they encouraging violence?” Lead author Derek Kreager shows male adolescent athletes who participate in contact sports such as football and wrestling face an increased likelihood of violence by over 40% compared to non-athletes.

This study argues that when youth are rewarded for on-the-field violence, there is a flawed expectation that these lessons will not be taken off-the field. Of the 6,400 male adolescents Kreager studied, 25% played football and 7% wrestled.

Professor Kreager said, “The results suggest that sports fail to protect males from interpersonal violence. Indeed, contact sports are positively associated with male serious fighting.”

This entry was posted on Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 9:35 am and is filed under Education, Social and cultural issues, Sports, recreation and leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.