The Relationship of Sport Involvement with Children's Moral Reasoning and Aggression Tendencies

Abstract

The relationships between sport involvement variables (participation and interest) and facets of children's morality (reasoning maturity and aggression tendencies) were investigated for 106 girls and boys in grades 4 through 7. Children responded to a sport involvement questionnaire, participated in a moral interview, and completed two self-report instruments designed to assess aggression tendencies in sport-specific and daily life contexts. Analyses revealed that boys' participation and interest in high contact sports and girls' participation in medium contact sports (the highest level of contact sport experience they reported) were positively correlated with less mature moral reasoning and greater tendencies to aggress. Regression analyses demonstrated that sport interest predicted reasoning maturity and aggression tendencies better than sport participation. Results and implications are discussed from a structural developmental perspective.

Participation in Sport and Moral Functioning: Does Ego Orientation Mediate Their Relationship?

“…Bredemeier et al (1986) found that the extent of boys' involvement in high contact sports such as football, wrestling, and judo, and girls' involvement in medium contact sports such as soccer and basketball, was associated with less mature moral reasoning and greater selfreported tendencies to be aggressive in both sport and daily life. These findings were corroborated by two other studies, which revealed that extensive participation in medium contact sport among young people (Conroy, Silva, Newcomer, Walker, & Johnson, 2001), and in high contact sports among boys at a summer camp (Bredemeier et al, 1987), corresponded to judgments that aggressive behaviors in sport are legitimate.…”

“…Those sports were selected because they can be classified as medium or high contact sports, and past work (Bredemeier & Shields, 1986a;Bredemeier et al, 1986Bredemeier et al, , 1987Conroy et al, 2001) has shown that extensive participation in these sports is associated with low levels of moral functioning, as broadly defined. A total of 18 teams participated in the study.…”

“…A number of studies conducted primarily by Bredemeier and her colleagues (e.g., Bredemeier & Shields, 1984, 1986a, 1986bBredemeier, Weiss, Shields, & Cooper, 1986, 1987 have examined the relationship between sport participation and various aspects of morality, namely moral reasoning, aggressive tendencies, and judgments about the legitimacy of intentionally injurious sport acts. The bulk of this work has focused on medium and high contact sports, as these sports have the inherent potential for injury and therefore directly raise moral issues (Bredemeier & Shields, 1986a).…”

Profesyonel Futbolcularin Sportmenli̇k Yöneli̇mleri̇ Ve Empati̇k Eği̇li̇m Düzeyleri̇

“…Bunun sebebinin futbolcunun rakibini düşünerek birçok pozisyonda sert fauller yapamayacak olması ya da maç sırasında duygularını bir kenara bırakarak sert oyunu tercih edemeyecek olması tedirginliği olabilir. Yapılan araştırmalarda da yakın temaslı takım sporlarında saldırgan davranış eğiliminin yüksek olduğu ortaya çıkmaktadır (1). Oysaki empatinin bir boyutunu oluşturan perspektif alma becerisinin oyunculara kazandırılması, rakibin bir sonraki hamlesi ya da bizzat kendi takım arkadaşının neler yapabileceğini önceden sezerek değişik stratejiler geliştirmesi açısından önemlidir.…”

Physiological underarousal as a mechanism of aggressive behavior in university athletes with a history of concussion

“…(2014), athletes exhibited significantly higher levels of violence and aggression compared to nonathletes across 10 of the 11 studies reviewed. Similarly, it has been demonstrated that athletes endorse higher levels of disinhibition, irritability, and aggressiveness than their nonathlete counterparts (Bara Filho, Ribeiro, & García, 2005), even in nonsporting contexts (Bredemeier, Shields, Weiss, & Cooper, 1986). …”