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AGGRESSION IN YOUTH ATHLETS

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 205
Research in Kinesiology
2015, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 205-209

AGGRESSION IN YOUTH ATHLETS

(Preliminary communication)
Nezabravka Gencheva
National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski” Sofia
Faculty of Kinesitherapy,Turism and Spotst Animation
Department of Kinesiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Bulgaria

Abstract
Aggression is an integral part of contemporary sports. Aggressive players who intentionally cause
injury to their opponents are common in many sports. The aggressive tendencies in sports area are socially
justified because they lead to high level performance in sport competition. The study examines competitive
aggression and ccompetitive anger in football, rugby and field hockey athlets. Results indicated that the
difference between anger and aggression in all three groups’ sports players is significant. The highest
values are reached by the group of football players. This is a result of the big popularity of the sport, the
commercialization and the significance of public’s behavior which predispose opponent’s.There is no relation
between factors as worries, somatization and social anxiety with sport aggression and anger. The aggressive
tendencies in sports area are socially justified because they lead to high level performance in sport. In our
opinion more important is that the children know how to control and to overcome the anger and the aggressive
attitudes out of the sport areas which is the basic task of sport pedagogue.

Keywords: anger and aggressiveness in sports, anxiety, worries, somatization, social anxiety,
Questionnaire, analysis of variance

INTRODUCTION is in the norms helps achieving the goal. To some extent

Aggression can be defined as any interpersonal
behavior intended to cause physical harm or mental
distress. Aggressive players who intentionally cause
an injuriy to their opponents are common in many
sports, particularly in collision sports such as Rugby
(Maxwell, Visek, 2009). The aggressive attitude towards
the opponent and sport hooliganism are object of many
social and psychological researches. Representatives
of different scientific approaches consider the sport
aggressiveness as “ritualized” aggression, a method
for sublimation, result of frustration, opportunity for
catharsis or special feature of personality, formed by the
influence of sport environment. (Kutergin, Ryabushenko,
& Gorbotenko, (Кутергин, Рябушенко & Горбатенко,
2010). According to the competitive essence we could
consider that sport is already aggressive because during
the competition athletes strive to repress the opponent’s
desire for victory. It is proved that the aggressiveness
of the athletes increases in contact sports (Gardner
& Janelle 2002; Silva, 1983; Tucker & Parks, 2001,
Gencheva, (Генчева), 2013).
On the other hand sport activity is subordinated by
exact, strictly regulated universal rules. It is controlled
and each aggressive act exceeding the norms is penalized.
The aggressive attitude in some sport disciplines which
the aggressiveness in many sports is necessary and it is
tolerated. Multitude researches define the youth engaged
in sport have better habits for self-regulation towards the
aggressiveness and expressed incentive type in young
persons not engaged with sports. A research (Slavcheva,
Fenerova, & Georgiev, (Славчева, Фенерова, Георги-
ев), 2008) proves that the aggression in rugby is a
specific behavioral form which is determined by the
aggressive attitudes in the wide social environment. The
presence or the absence of aggressive attitude does not
imply the presence or the absence of such in sport.
The results in a study of Gumusdag (2013) demo-
nstrated that Somatic Anxiety was the best significant
predictor of Passive Aggression and Assertiveness.
Regarding the age factor the investigations show that
in definite sport population (e.g. 10-14 year old children,
adolescence, youths and adults) increasing the age the
aggression grows (Stephens, 2004;). However, other
researches prove that there is no relation between the
age and the aggressiveness (Conroy, Silvia, Newcomer,
Walker, & Johnson, 2001). This contradiction in
sport psychology enforces to continue all scientific
investigations in this area.
In this study we wanted to measure aggression and
anger in sport competition in young athletes engaged
206 N. Gencheva
with collective sports and their correlation with some
personal characteristics as worries, somatization and
social anxiety.
METHODS
The research included 47 boys. The investigated
individuals are 13-18 years old. They are studying in
6-12 different sport schools. The bigger group is the
group of 17-18 years old boys, respectively 20,5% and
23%, followed by the group aged 16 years – 19,2%. The
15 years old boys are 17,9%, the 14 years old – 11,5%
and the smallest group is the group of boys whose age
is 13 and 12 years old, respectively 1,3% and 6,4%. The
average age of all participants is 15,96 years. 12 of the
children are training rugby, 13 – football and 22 – field
hockey.
Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale
- CAAS (Maxwell & Moores, 1983) offer only an in-
complete understanding and measurement of anger and
aggressiveness in sports. Among other things, the meas-
ure ignores a whole range of frequently occurring legal,
sanctioned aggressive and violent behavior in sports. In
addition, it ignores sources of motivation beyond anger
which underpin other types of aggressive and violent
behavior in sports (Kerr, 2008 )
In relation to this it was developed a special que-
stionnaire: measuring worries, somatic symptoms and
social anxiety (Kalchev ( Калчев), 2010, 2012).
Three items screening social anxiety are added in
the questionnaire. Additionally is added the Competitive
Aggressiveness and Anger Scale – CAAS (Maxwell &
Moores, 1983, according to Visek, Maxwell, Watson,
Hurst, 2010). The questionnaire is self-decrypted type.
The respondent answers with the help of 5-point Likert
scale – “never” “rarely”, “sometimes”, and “always”.
The scale contains 12 items. Extracted factors: agg-
ressiveness – 6 items and anger – 6 items.
The authors of the scale found positive correlation
between CASS and the five subscales in the Buss-Perry
Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ; Buss & Perry, 1992);
Visek, Maxwell, Watson, & Hurst, 2010).
Coaches and parents are preliminary acquainted with
the aim of the research. Most of the participants were
Table 1. Correlation between aggression and anger in sport competition
with Worries Somatization and Social anxiety
Factors Competitive anger
Worries
Somatizatin
Social anxiety
Competitive anger
Competitive Aggressiveness
interested to fill the questionnaire. The rugby players
were examined first, then football players, and at the end
hockey players. Deliberately we choose collective sports
with physical combat.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
There is the internal consistence of each group
of examined factors by Cronbach’s alpha. Worries -
α=0,87; Somatization - α= 0,84; Social anxiety - α=0,70;
Competitive Aggressiveness - α=0,82; Competitive
anger - α=0,85 All scales are consistent i.e. the questio-
nnaires are with high reliability.
We examined the correlation between aggression
and anger in sport with the other three factors. (Table 1).
There is no relation between factors as worries,
somatization and social anxiety with sport aggression
and anger.
Coming out on sport field or in front of spectaculars,
the athletes know that they are the main “actors”. The
high anxiety expressed by somatic manifestations,
worries and social anxiety could have negative effect on
the psychological processes in young athletes and the
productive execution of sport activities such as anger
and aggression.
However in our research there is no significant
relation between the measured level of anxiety and
aggression and anger in sport competition.
Examining the relations between aggression and
anger in sport on Table 1 we find that this relation is
statistic reliable.
The difference shows that the two factors give
different aspects to the general construct “Aggression”
so they should be considered separately.
The anxieties are basic component of generalized
anxiety as personal characteristic and they are connected
with predicting possible danger. The process repeats
many times. In the age of adolescence the anxiety is a
cognitive process of foresight which includes repeat-
able thoughts for future results and their negative con-
sequences when there is no actual threat (Kalchev
(Калчев), 2012 ).
Usually the verbal aggression in sport is accompanied
by physical aggression. During the sport competition the
Competitive Aggressiveness
,150 -,067
Sig. 190 Sig.,562
,162 ,013
Sig. ,157 Sig .,910
-,031 -,136
Sig. ,790 Sig. ,236
Sig. 1 ,662(**)
,662(**) Sig..1
 AGGRESSION IN YOUTH... 207
Table 2. Descriptive characteristics of anger and aggression
in sport competition

Factors Sports N Mean Std. Deviation

Competitive anger Rugby 12 17,0833 4,52183
Football 13 25,4615 3,38170
Field Hockey 22 17,5455 5,67977
Total 47 19,6170 5,99838
Competitive Aggressiveness Rugby 12 16,9167 5,96137
Football 13 22,4615 3,55001
Field Hockey 22 12,9545 5,03774
Total 47 16,5957 6,28199

Table 3. Analysis of Variance of „Somatization”, „Worries” and „Social anxiety”,

„Competitive anger”, „Competitive Aggressiveness”

Factors
Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F p

Worries 856,747 2 428,374 6,504 ,003

Somatization 530,611 2 265,305 3,247 ,048
Social anxiety 20,876 2 10,438 1,487 ,237
Competitive anger 615,504 2 307,752 13,025 ,000
Competitive Aggressiveness 740,217 2 370,109 15,147 ,000

aggression is expressed by abuses, offends, threats, etc. After the factor variances analysis of the
Verbal and physical aggressions are accompanied by internalized factors „somatization”, „uneasiness” and
eloquent paralinguistic means of expression – mimics „social anxiety” in boys training rugby, football and field
and gestures which intend to irritate the opponent. hockey we found out that the three indexes had close
Often the physical aggression in sport consists in mean values and the differences were not significant.
tripping, clashing, kicking or other means for physical On Table 4 are compared the mean values of
impediment. the “Worries” and the normal values for the age. It is
Table 2 show the mean values of the factor “Anger obvious that there is difference only in the group of
and aggression” in sport competition of the three groups rugby players, who demonstrate lower level of this
of youth athletes. variable than football and field hockey players. Reasons
The highest values are reached by the group of for this are lower popularity of the sport in Bulgaria and
football players. This is result of the big popularity of the absence of spectators. The other two sports are in
the sport, the commercialization and the significance the norms for the age but there is a tendency for higher
of public’s behavior which predispose opponent’s.The levels in the field hockey players.
results of rugby players are unacceptable for us. The
environment of this sport is aggressive and the rugby is Table 4. Descriptive characteristics
socially accepted as one of most aggressive sports where for the variables
the physical violence is expected and it is encouraged
by coaches and fans. The results could be caused by the Sports N Mean Std. Deviation
small  statistical sample and the lower motivation of the
Rugby 12 42,0807 4,94048
players concerning the lack of popularity of the sport in
Bulgaria. Football 13 48,5522 9,74726
The analysis of Variance (Tabl. 3) presents that the Field Hockey 22 53,2030 9,40373
difference between anger (F =13,025, p=0.000) and Total 47 49,0769 9,59068
aggression (F=15,147, p=0.000) in all three groups
sports players is significant. The comparison of the factor „Somatization” in
The Dispersion analysis presents that F value is the three sports presents that there is difference in the
6,504 and it is statistically significant (p=0,003), which values between rugby and football players and the field
means that the three mean values of different sports - a hockey players. The boys who train field hockey have
factor for anxiety, are not equal. higher level of somatic manifestations, which is in
208 N. Gencheva
relation with the higher level of anxiety compared with
the norms. This anxiety usually could cause palpation,
blush, trembling, panic attacks, etc. The differences are
statistic insignificant.
The data on Table 3 shows the lack of difference
of the factor „Social anxiety” between the three groups
of boys engaged with sports as rugby, football and field
hockey - F=1,487
In accordance to Frustration Theory the aggress-
iveness is a consequence of discrepancy between su-
bjective expectations and the objective reality, which
could cause the impossibility to achieve the desired
goal. The frustration produces raised anxiety. In youth
athletes the anxieties are connected with foresights
and repeating thoughts for the future success of the
forthcoming competition. In our research the values of
anxiety are close to the norms of the age. This is in result
of the bigger variation in the age of this subgroup and
the fact that the athletes engaged with individual sports
have higher responsibility towards the achieved results
whereas the responsibility in collective sports could be
allocated between the teammates, especially when the
athletes do not have enough competitive experience
which is necessary for the single combats. The single
combats require variation and improvisation accordingly
to the changing parameters of the situation, coordination
of the efforts for reaching the mutual goal.
It is impossible to compare worries, somatic mani-
festations and the social anxiety with norm values of
youth in Bulgaria. The social anxiety is connected with
great fear of negative assessment or failure, fear of
humiliation or rejection. This fear appears when there
are negative thoughts as it is mentioned above. The
athletes could express this fear in pre-start stress of the
competition caused by the insufficient appreciation of
teammates, coach, friends and fans.
But the real problem is how the athletes’ anxiety
causes aggressiveness during the completion. The int-
ernalize problems in the development expressed by
worries, social anxiety and somatic manifestations have
insignificant relations with the aggression because of
the fear absence of public appearance in sport because
it is a show and it is performed in front of spectaculars.
This means that the reason for aggressiveness and anger
during the completion is the anxiety of youth athletes in
all three collective sports.
The outbursts of anger and aggression in sport are
caused by frustration situation during the match. The
circumstances (especially in football) as not judging
a penalty to the opponent or the opponent team, fouls
or unjustly judged penalty, public’s unsportsmanlike
conduct supporting the opponent’s team could add
additional excitement to the young players. The
overexcitement and the anger of young athletes often
grow to physical or verbal aggression with opponent’s
player or the referee. On the other hand the youths
observe the behavior of their soccer idols and role
models and internalize their actions. They learn that
aggressiveness could be useful for achieving the win.
CONCLUSION
The Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale
(CAAS) appears to be a useful measure of athletic anger
and aggressiveness. Its ability to discriminate aggressive
from non-aggressive athletes should prove useful for
future research concerning aggressive behaviour in
competitive athletes. Оur study appeared serious ques-
tions for reflection. The aggressive tendencies in some
sports and some sporting situations are a legitimate part
of the game, because they lead to high level performance
in sport competition, but which is the most important
indicator for the accumulation of anger and aggression
against the opponent`s players, the referee and the
spectaculars during the competition? Whether this
indicator is the strong frustration or the lack of forming
an attitude for restraining aggressiveness and skills for
self-control and overcoming their own emotions or the
internalization of role models? In our study there is not
the relation between some personal characteristics and
aggressive behavior. In our opinion more important is
that the children know how to control and to overcome
the anger and the aggressive attitudes out of the sport
areas which is the basic task of sport pedagogy.
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Correspondence:
Nezabravka Gencheva
National Sports Academy“Vassil Levski”, Sofia
Faculty of Kinesitherapy,Turism and Spotst Animation
Department of Kinesitherapy and Rehabilitation
1, Gurgulyat str, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria
E-mail: nezig@mail.bg
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