Citation

Coulomb-Cabagno G, Rascle O. J. Appl. Soc. Psychol. 2006; 36(8): 1980-2000.

Affiliation

UFRAPS, University of Rennes 2, Avenue. C. Tillon, 35044 Rennes Cedex, France. (e-mail: genevieve.cabagno@uhb.fr)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00090.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study aims at examining observed aggression in team sports as a function of gender, competitive level, and sport type. It was hypothesized that (a) male players display more aggressive behaviors than female players, (b) aggressive behaviors increase when competitive level rises, and (c) gender difference in observed aggression is depending on sport type. One hundred and eighty games, equally shared among males and females, soccer and handball, and departmental, regional, and national competitive levels were recorded on videotapes and observed using a grid to differ instrumental from hostile aggressive behaviors. The results revealed that male players always display more aggressive behaviors than female players, whatever the sport, the competitive level or the nature of the observed aggression; instrumental aggressive behaviors increase and hostile aggressive behaviors decrease when competitive level rises; and the gender difference appears larger in handball than in soccer.