Violence Against Women
http://vaw.sagepub.com
Dating Aggression, Sexual Coercion, and Aggression-Supporting
Attitudes Among College Men as a Function of Participation in
Aggressive High School Sports
Gordon B. Forbes, Leah E. Adams-Curtis, Alexis H. Pakalka and Kay B. White
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 2006; 12; 441
DOI: 10.1177/1077801206288126
The online version of this article can be found at:
http://vaw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/5/441
Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com
Additional services and information for Violence Against Women can be found at:
Email Alerts: http://vaw.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts
Subscriptions: http://vaw.sagepub.com/subscriptions
Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav
Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
Citations (this article cites 32 articles hosted on the
SAGE Journals Online and HighWire Press platforms):
http://vaw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/12/5/441
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 441
Dating Aggression, Sexual
Coercion, and AggressionSupporting Attitudes Among
College Men as a Function of
Participation in Aggressive
High School Sports
Violence Against Women
Volume 12 Number 5
May 2006 441-455
© 2006 Sage Publications
10.1177/1077801206288126
http://vaw.sagepub.com
hosted at
http://online.sagepub.com
Gordon B. Forbes
Millikin University, Decatur, IL
Leah E. Adams-Curtis
Illinois Central College, East Peoria
Alexis H. Pakalka
Kay B. White
Millikin University, Decatur, IL
Aggressive male sports have been criticized as bastions of sexism and training grounds
for aggression against women, but there have been few empirical demonstrations of
these alleged relationships. The authors studied self-reported dating aggression and
sexual coercion in 147 college men. Men who had participated in aggressive high school
sports, as compared with other men, engaged in more psychological aggression, physical aggression, and sexual coercion toward their dating partners, caused their partners
more physical injury, were more accepting of violence, had more sexist attitudes and
hostility toward women, were more accepting of rape myths, and were less tolerant of
homosexuality. Results indicate that participation in aggressive high school sports is one
of the multiple developmental pathways leading to relationship violence.
Keywords: athletes; dating violence; rape myths; sexism
S
ince the rise of modern sports in the 19th century, it has often been assumed that
sports provide many benefits to those who participate in them (Coakley, 2001,
2002; Crosset, 1990). There is an enormous amount of anecdotal and considerable
empirical evidence for this assertion (Ewing, Gano-Overway, Branta, & Seefeldt,
2002). However, in the past two decades of the 20th century, three social influences
Authors’ Note: Kristin Card, Emily Bloesch, Amanda Poe, Amanda Quisenberry, Jessica Revak,
Raynette Richardson, and Chelsea Robinson provided valuable assistance in one or more phases of this
research. We are indebted to our colleagues who allowed us to solicit participants in their classes.
441
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 442
442 Violence Against Women
led to the examination of the often uncritical endorsement of sports as wholesome,
character-building, prosocial activities. The first of these influences came from feminist scholars who began to argue that sports, particularly team sports, often reflect male
hegemony, debase and objectify women, and encourage physical and sexual aggression against women (Benedict, 1997; Messner & Sabo, 1990; Nelson, 1994). A second
influence was the work of family sociologists (e.g., Gelles, 1974, 1979; Straus, Gelles,
& Steinmetz, 1980), who began to sensitize society to the enormous problem of violence
between intimates, particularly wife battering. The third influence was the research by
feminist scholars documenting the high rate of sexual coercion and date rape experienced by young women (e.g., Koss, 1988; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). These
influences coalesced to produce popular and professional concern with the relationship
between sports and violence against women. In this changed political climate, cases of
domestic violence involving sports figures or sexual aggression by athletes—behaviors
that had often been hidden, denied, or minimized in the past—began to receive attention in the mass media. Articles emphasizing the apparent relationships between athletic fame and violence against women appeared in the influential sports press (e.g.,
Nack & Munson, 1995), popular newspapers (e.g., Weir, 1990, 1995), and scholarly
journals (e.g., Dabbs, 1998). Repeated stories in the popular media led to what appears
to be the common belief that athletes are more likely to be violent toward women than
are other men (Crosset, 2002; Dabbs, 1998).
There does not appear to be any clear empirical evidence of a relationship between
participation in professional sports and violence against women (Blumstein &
Benedict, 1999). However, there is empirical evidence of a relationship between
participation in college athletics and dating aggression or sexual coercion. In a
widely cited study of athletes at NCAA Division I schools, Crosset, Benedict,
and McDonald (1995) found that athletes were overrepresented among students
reported to university judicial affairs boards for sexual assault. The results of a study
by Koss and Gaines (1993), showing that college athletes, particularly those in
football and basketball, engaged in more sexual aggression and gang rape are also
well known. Similarly, Frintner and Rubinson (1993) found that men on sports teams
were greatly overrepresented among men engaging in sexual aggression. In their
analysis of the data reported by Crosset et al. (1995), Crosset and Ptacek (1996)
found that male athletes were greatly overrepresented among students reported
to university judicial affairs boards for nonsexual assaults. In addition, at least
two studies (Boeringer, 1999; Sawyer, Thompson, & Chicorelli, 2002) have shown
a relationship between participation in team sports and acceptance of rape myths,
a variable often related to sexual aggression (Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). However, not all studies have reported an association between athletic team membership
and aggression against women (for reviews, see Crosset, 2002; Messner & Stevens,
2002).
As others have noted (e.g., Crosset, 2002), both athletes and sports vary tremendously in their level of aggression and misogyny. Although football has been
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 443
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 443
described as a male initiation rite (Sabo & Pamepinto, 1990) and characterized as a
bastion of misogynistic sexism (Nelson, 1994), it seems most unlikely that sports
such as golf, figure skating, or tennis would be described in similar terms. It is
known that sexual violence against women varies greatly among universities (Koss
et al., 1987), and it is much more common among some athletic groups or some fraternities than among others (Humphrey & Kahn, 2000; Sanday, 1996a). This suggests that some sports will be more closely linked to aggression against women than
will others, a hypothesis consistent with the results of Koss and Gaines (1993), and
that the relationship between sports participation and aggression against women will
be stronger at some schools than at others. For example, this relationship may be
much stronger at leading NCAA Division I schools, with their numerous athletic
scholarships, athletic dorms, nationally prominent teams, and large revenues from
sports, than at much smaller schools where athletes are better integrated into the
student body and sports are far less visible, prestigious, and income producing.
Examination of the values associated with highly aggressive sports, such as
football and hockey, quickly identifies features that may be associated with aggression against women. For example, Kidd (1990) described the “gross sexism and
homophobia of that inner sanctum of patriarchy, the locker room” (p. 42). Kidd,
Curry (1991), Sabo and Pamepinto (1990), and many others have described the
objectification of women, misogyny, homophobia, and admiration of violence associated with aggressive team sports. The similarities between these values and the
values of rape-prone societies or institutions described by Sanday (1981, 1996b) are
striking. In addition, an extensive literature has repeatedly demonstrated the relationship between these variables and violence against women, sexual coercion, and
rape (for a review, see Adams-Curtis & Forbes, 2004).
Research and theory on sports participation and violence against women has
focused on the victimization of college women or women associated with professional athletes. This focus may have the unintended effect of suggesting that the
relationship between sports and violence against women is something that does not
appear until a person gets an athletic scholarship to a Division I school or is selected
in the professional draft. This is certainly not the case. It is clearly established that
aggression against women appears long before college age (for recent large-scale
studies of dating aggression in younger populations, see DeKerseredy & Schwartz,
1998; Kann et al., 2000; Silverman, Raj, Mucci, & Hathaway, 2001).
White, Donat, and Bondurant (2001) emphasize the importance of understanding
violence against women from a developmental perspective. Experiences in college
or professional sports may be important ways of reinforcing preexisting attitudes,
but as Tolman, Spencer, Rosen-Reynoso, and Porche (2003) have shown, hostility
toward women, objectification of women, admiration of violence, and other attitudes
associated with aggression against women are acquired long before people reach college age. One of the adolescent experiences that may encourage the development of
these attitudes or in other ways influence the developmental pathways to relationship
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 444
444 Violence Against Women
aggression is participation in highly aggressive sports in high school. This participation
may expose adolescent males to role models of the kind of aggressive, misogynistic,
and homophobic masculinity that Malamuth and his associates (Malamuth, 1998;
Malamuth, Heavey, & Linz, 1993; Malamuth, Linz, Heavey, Barnes, & Aker, 1995;
Malamuth, Sockloskie, Koss, & Tanaka, 1991) have linked to aggression against
women. High school exposure to these attitudes may be particularly influential
because this is a developmentally important time when adolescent males are seeking
to demonstrate their conformance to rigid and traditional male gender roles while
simultaneously establishing their first romantic relationships with women (Maccoby,
1998). The high frequency of dating aggression during this time (e.g., Kann et al.,
2000) may reflect the difficulties in these demanding, complex, and sometimes
contradictory tasks. Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any published empirical studies of the role of high school sports participation in forming attitudes toward
women or of the relationship between high school sports participation and subsequent violence against women.
If participation in aggressive sports is one of the many developmental pathways
that may lead to relationship aggression and sexual coercion, it is important to identify some of the specific elements that may lead to this outcome. Presumably, the
pathway from athletic participation to relationship aggression is mediated by changes
in attitudes about aggression; rigid attitudes about gender differences in rights, roles,
and privileges (sexism); attitudes about sexual coercion; and hostility toward women.
If this is the case, there should be measurable differences on these variables between
participants in aggressive sports and participants in less-aggressive sports or nonathletes. Specifically, men’s participation in aggressive sports should be associated with
greater acceptance of violence as a problem-solving technique, greater hostility
toward women, greater acceptance of rape myths, greater sexism, and reduced tolerance for homosexuality.
We investigated the relationship between participation in high school aggressive
sports and dating aggression, sexual coercion, and selected attitudes in college men.
It was hypothesized that college men who participated in aggressive high school
sports, relative to men who did not participate in these sports, will
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Engage in more psychological aggression toward their dating partners
Engage in more physical aggression toward their dating partners
Engage in more sexual coercion
Cause a greater level of physical injury to their dating partners
Be more accepting of violence as a problem-solving technique
Have greater hostility toward women
Be more accepting of rape myths
Have stronger sexist beliefs, particularly sexist beliefs involving hostility toward
women
9. Have more negative attitudes about homosexuality
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 445
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 445
Method
Participants and Procedures
The participants were 182 men in 28 sections of freshman composition classes at a
small, private, Midwestern university. The university is an NCAA Division III school.
There were no athletic scholarships offered, and athletics were not very visible on
campus. Data were collected during the regular class period in the middle of the spring
semester. Participants were not compensated, and all responses were anonymous. All
participants were informed in writing, and again in oral instructions, of their right to
refuse participation at any time. Sixteen students declined to participate.
Answer booklets from 9 participants were discarded because of excessive missing
data or a failure to follow instructions. Because the purpose of the study was to investigate relationship aggression, data from participants who indicated they had never
been involved in a romantic relationship (n = 26) were discarded. To increase sample
homogeneity, data from the 1 participant older than 22 were also discarded. This left
a final sample of 147 men. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 22 (M = 18.72,
SD = 0.76); the majority (91.2%, n = 134) were European Americans, and all were
unmarried.
Participants were asked to indicate which of 11 sports (baseball, basketball,
soccer, golf, cross-country, football, swimming, track and field, wrestling, tennis,
or other sport) they had participated in during high school. The majority of men
(78.2%, n = 115) reported that they had participated in one or more sports in high
school. Based on the frequency and intensity of physical contact, along with the
potential to cause physical injury to the opponent, football, basketball, wrestling, and
soccer were classified as aggressive sports. Using this classification system, 68.7%
(n = 101) of the participants had played at least one aggressive sport in high school.
Measures of Relationship Aggression and Sexual Coercion
The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2; Straus, Hambly, Boney-McCoy, &
Sugarman, 1996) was used as a measure of relationship aggression. For many years
the original Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus, 1979) was a commonly used measure of relationship aggression. In revising the scale, Straus and his associates
attempted to address some of the most common criticisms of the measure (see Cook,
2002; Currie, 1998; Kimmel, 2002; Straus, 1990). The CTS-2 contains five scales
(Negotiation, Psychological Aggression, Physical Aggression, Sexual Coercion, and
Injury) that measure responses to conflicts in relationships by the respondent and the
respondent’s partner. The CTS-2 was administered using the format and instructions
provided by Straus et al. (1996). Straus et al. recommend the use of a weighted scoring system. Because most people engage in very little aggression and only a few
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 446
446 Violence Against Women
people engage in high levels of aggression, most measures of aggression are skewed.
The use of a weighted scoring system exaggerates this and produces severe skewing.
This skewing is not a problem if the CTS or CTS-2 is used as a clinical or screening
instrument to identify highly aggressive individuals, but it is a problem in empirical
research because it violates the assumptions of many inferential statistics. To minimize
skewing, the scoring was modified by assigning a single point to any item answered
in the affirmative and summing the points for each scale. Using this modified scoring
system, reliabilities (Cronbach’s alpha) were Negotiation (self = .76, partner = .76),
Psychological Aggression (self = .70, partner = .66), Physical Aggression (self = .76,
partner = .80), Sexual Coercion (self = .66, partner = .61), and Injury (self = .78,
partner = .77). These reliabilities are similar to or slightly lower than those reported
by Straus et al.
Measures of Sexism
The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996, 1997, 2001) was used as a
measure of sexism. Ambivalent sexism theory (Glick & Fiske, 2001) rejects the traditional view that sexism is simply a form of hostility toward women. Instead, Glick and
Fiske (2001) argue that there are two reasonably independent forms of sexism. The first,
hostile sexism, is similar to traditional views of sexism in that it justifies patriarchy,
imposes sharp restrictions on women’s roles, and denigrates women. The second, benevolent sexism, idealizes women, traditional women’s gender roles, and men’s dependency on women. An example of benevolent sexism is the belief that women should be
saved first in a disaster. This belief is certainly sexist, but it is hard to argue that it is hostile. These and other values associated with benevolent sexism often elicit feelings of
protectiveness and affection toward traditional women, but these feelings and the
actions they may elicit are based on perceptions of women’s inferiority. The 11-item
Hostile Sexism and 11-item Benevolent Sexism Scales were answered on 7-point
scales, and the answers were summed to produce a score for each scale. Similarly, all
other attitude measures were administered and scored in this manner. The alpha for the
Hostile Sexism Scale was .90, and the alpha for the Benevolent Sexism Scale was .81.
Measures of Rape Myth Acceptance
Brownmiller (1975) identified a series of false beliefs about sexual coercion
that are used to justify sexual violence and trivialize its effects on the victim. She
described these beliefs as rape myths. Burt (1980) operationalized Brownmiller’s
concept with the Rape Myth Scale. This scale has been extremely influential but, as
Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994, 1995) indicated, it has serious conceptual and psychometric problems. Because of these problems, the 19-item Rape Myths Scale of
Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1995) was employed in this study. This scale had a
Cronbach’s alpha of .91.
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 447
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 447
Measure of the Acceptance of Violence and Hostility
Two other measures developed by Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1995) were also administered. The first of these was the 20-item Attitude Toward Violence Scale, a modification of a longer scale by Velicer, Huckel, and Hansen (1989), which measures the
acceptance of violence as a legitimate approach to problem solving, particularly problems in interpersonal relations. This scale had an alpha of .88. Also administered was
the Lonsway and Fitzgerald 10-item Hostility Toward Women Scale, a modification of
the Hostility Toward Women and Hostility Toward Men Scales of Check, Malamuth,
Elias, and Barton (1985). This scale had an alpha of .72.
Measure of Negative Attitudes About Homosexuality
The six-item Homonegativity Scale (Morrison, Parriag, & Morrison, 1999) was
administered as a measure of negative attitudes toward homosexuals and homosexuality. This scale had an alpha of .75.
Presentation of the Measures
The measures in the present study were dispersed among the measures for two
unrelated studies. The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and Homonegativity Scale were
presented first. Then, after completing a series of unrelated items, the CTS-2 was
completed. Finally, the participants completed, in order, the Attitudes Toward
Violence, Hostility Toward Women, Hostility Toward Men, and Rape Myths Scales.
Results
Participants were separated into those who were involved with aggressive high
school sports (football, basketball, wrestling, and soccer), those involved in other
high school sports but not in aggressive sports, and those who did not participate in
any high school sports. Fourteen men reported that they had participated only in
sports that were classified as not aggressive. Because this group was too small for
separate analysis, the other sports and the nonparticipating groups were combined to
form a single comparison group of men who had not participated in aggressive high
school sports.
There were 101 men in the aggressive sports group and 46 men in the comparison group. The number of participants in each of the aggressive sports was football
(n = 57), basketball (n = 48), wrestling (n = 28), and soccer (n = 30). Because some
men participated in more than one sport, these numbers exceed the number of participants in the sample. Scores for the men who had participated in aggressive high
school sports and the comparison group of men are shown in Table 1.
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 448
448 Violence Against Women
Table 1
Scores of the Aggressive Sports and Comparison Group on
Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-2) and on Attitude Measures
Aggressive Sport
CTS-2 Self
Negotiation
Psychological Aggression
Physical Aggression
Sexual Coercion
Injury
CTS-2 Partner
Negotiation
Psychological Aggression
Physical Aggression
Sexual Coercion
Injury
Attitude measures
Hostile Sexism
Benevolent Sexism
Acceptance of Violence
Hostility Toward Women
Rape Myths
Comparison Group
N
M
SD
N
M
SD
t
101
101
101
101
101
5.34
2.29
0.65
0.60
0.19
1.22
1.74
1.48
1.08
0.73
46
46
46
46
46
5.11
1.60
0.28
0.24
0.02
1.54
1.73
0.58
0.67
0.15
.97
2.20*
2.18*a
2.50*a
2.19*a
101
101
101
101
101
5.28
2.24
1.08
0.61
0.16
1.22
1.76
1.96
1.66
0.67
46
46
46
46
46
4.85
1.50
0.35
0.35
0.07
1.70
1.79
0.64
0.79
0.25
1.51a
2.33*
3.38***a
1.41
1.22
101
101
94
92
91
48.55
44.43
66.63
34.41
43.56
12.29
10.80
19.27
8.78
18.69
46
46
45
45
45
39.17
39.04
58.00
30.57
36.53
13.38
11.54
17.95
7.97
14.40
4.17***
2.74**
2.44*
2.42*
2.21*
Cohen’s d
.37
.36
.42
.36
.39
.56
.69
.46
.42
.76
.38
a. t values are adjusted for unequal variances.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
Inspection of the results for the CTS-2 indicates that, as hypothesized, men who
participated in aggressive sports reported that they used more psychological aggression, more physical aggression, and more sexual coercion in their college dating
relationships than did men in the comparison group. Also as hypothesized, men in
the aggressive sports group reported causing more physical injury to their partners.
Inspection of the CTS-2 partner scores indicates that men in the aggressive sports
group reported that their partners exhibited more psychological and physical aggression against them. Comparisons on the attitudinal measures indicates that, as hypothesized, men in the aggressive sports group scored higher than did men in
the comparison group on both measures of sexism and on the Acceptance of
Violence, Hostility Toward Women, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Homonegativity
Scales. All hypotheses for both the CTS-2 measures and the attitudinal measures
were confirmed. The values of Cohen’s d shown in Table 1 indicate that effect sizes
for the CTS-2 measures generally fell in the low range. Effect sizes for the attitudinal
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 449
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 449
measures were modestly higher, with two of the five measures falling in the
moderate range.
Discussion
Aggressive sports have been repeatedly criticized as training grounds for sexism,
misogyny, violence, and homophobia (e.g., Benedict, 1997, 1998; Curry, 1991;
Messner & Stevens, 2002; Nelson, 1994; Whitson, 1990). Our results for the attitudinal measures are certainly consistent with this unflattering characterization. College
men who participated in aggressive high school sports, in contrast to men who did
not, scored higher on measures of sexism (particularly hostile sexism), were more
accepting of violence as a means of solving problems, and were more accepting of
rape myths. In addition, they were also more hostile toward women and had more
negative attitudes toward homosexuality.
Role of Hostile Masculinity
One of the common threads that connects sexism, hostility toward women, acceptance of violence, and aggression against women is the concept of hostile masculinity
as described by Malamuth and his associates (Dean & Malamuth, 1997; Malamuth,
1986; Malamuth et al., 1991, 1995). This concept evolved during a number of years
and has been operationalized in different ways. Its central elements are hostility
toward women, the belief in male superiority, and the belief that men should be dominant and aggressive. Malamuth et al. (1991), in an analysis of the 2,972 college men
from the classic nationwide study of Koss et al. (1987), found that hostile masculinity was associated with sexual coercion. Similarly, in an important follow-up of men
in Manitoba, Malamuth et al. (1995) found that hostile masculinity was associated
with sexual coercion 10 years later. Our results show that central elements in hostile
masculinity are associated with participation in aggressive high school sports.
Role of Rape Myths
We found that college men who played aggressive sports in high school were
more accepting of rape myths. This finding is consistent with the results of Sawyer
et al. (2002), who found that college men who participated in team sports endorsed
more rape myths than did men who participated in individual sports, and Boeringer’s
(1999) report that intercollegiate athletes endorsed more rape myths than did other
men. Although there are occasional exceptions (e.g., Forbes & Adams-Curtis, 2001;
Overholster & Beck, 1986), research has generally found relationships between
the acceptance of rape myths and sexual aggression against women (Lonsway &
Fitzgerald, 1994). The significance of this relationship was illustrated by Lanier’s
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 450
450 Violence Against Women
(2001) finding that high school boys who self-reported engaging in forced sexual activity endorsed more rape myths than did other boys. Most importantly, Lanier also found
that high endorsement of rape myths was predictive of subsequent sexual aggression.
Taken as a whole, the results of the attitudinal measures indicate that college men
who participated in aggressive sports in high school scored higher than did men in
the comparison group on measures that have been both theoretically and empirically
linked to psychological, physical, and sexual aggression against women (e.g.,
Forbes, Adams-Curtis, & White, 2004). These results confirmed all of our specific
hypotheses about the attitudinal measures.
Aggressive Sports and Dating Aggression
Although it is of theoretical importance to demonstrate that participation in
aggressive high school sports is associated with the attitudes and values men have as
college freshmen, from a practical perspective it is much more important to know if
participation in aggressive high school sports is related to aggressive and sexually
coercive behaviors in college. Our results strongly indicate that this is the case.
Self-reported aggression. College men who participated in aggressive high school
sports, in comparison with college men who did not, reported significantly more
aggression toward their college dating partners on the CTS-2. This included more
physical aggression such as hitting, pushing, or kicking and more psychological
aggression such as name calling, yelling, and threatening behavior. In addition, college men who participated in high school aggressive sports, as compared with men
who had not, reported that their aggressive actions caused their partners greater physical injury, such as bruising or bleeding. In view of the well-recognized problem of
sexual aggression against college women (e.g., Koss et al., 1987), the finding that college men who participated in aggressive high school sports reported that they engaged
in more sexually coercive behaviors, such as using threats or physical force to obtain
sexual activity, is particularly important.
It is important to recognize that these results were found in a small, private, NCAA
Division III school. This school has no athletic scholarships and no athletic dorms,
and the school newspaper often laments a lack of student support for athletic teams
and programs. These results indicate that the relationship between participation in
aggressive sports and men’s psychological, physical, and sexual aggression against
women is not limited to high-profile professional athletes or collegiate athletes at
major Division I universities. Although certainly discouraging, these results should
not be surprising. Sports are a product of a patriarchal society with deeply engrained
sexism and misogyny. Those countless boys who have been admonished not to
“throw like a girl” have received a minor lesson in baseball and a major lesson in
misogyny. Only in a sexist and misogynistic culture could “acting like a girl” be a
potent insult to males of almost any age and in almost any context. Aggressive sports,
as McPherson (2002) and others have suggested, may exaggerate the sexism and the
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 451
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 451
narrow masculine roles of the society that nourishes them, but aggressive sports do
not create misogyny, and they certainly do not have a monopoly on its perpetuation.
Aggressive sports participation and partner’s aggression. Men who participated
in aggressive high school sports, as contrasted with men in the comparison group,
reported that their partners engaged in more psychological and physical aggression
toward them. Given these men’s self-reported psychological, physical, and sexual
aggression against women, along with their sexism, misogyny, and rape-supporting
attitudes, it seems likely that much of the psychological and physical aggression by
their partners is in response to the aggressive actions and misogynistic attitudes of
these men. However, at least one alternative explanation also seems likely. It is well
established that most people are attracted to people much like themselves (Dwyer,
2000). This being the case, our results may reflect the simple phenomenon that
aggressive men are attracted to aggressive women. These explanations are not mutually exclusive, and it is likely that both contribute to the relationship.
Implications and Limitations
Our results appear to be the first empirical demonstration that participation in
aggressive high school athletics is associated with self-reported psychological, physical, and sexual aggression by college men. It is also one of the very few, possibly the
only (see Crosset, 2002), published finding that participation in athletics at any age is
associated with increased self-reports of nonsexual aggression against college women
by college men. Although it is understandable why research has focused on participation in college sports, this focus often inadvertently minimizes the developmental
nature of aggression against women. It also fails to recognize that dating aggression
against high school girls is a very serious problem (e.g., Kann et al., 2000). In fact,
high school girls are substantially more likely to experience sexual assault than are
college women (Rennison, 2002). Our results indicate the importance of understanding and studying aggression against college women as simply one point in developmental pathways that begin in childhood and extend throughout the life span.
It is important to note that our sample was of men attending a small, private, NCAA
Division III school. The sample was not representative of most intercollegiate athletes
and certainly was not representative of athletes at large NCAA Division I schools.
Although it can be argued that the observed effects would be expected to be greater
in schools with prestigious, highly visible, and nationally competitive athletic
programs, until the results have been replicated in such a population, they need to be
generalized with appropriate caution.
The results are all consistent with the hypothesis that high school exposure to
the blatant sexism, objectification of women, admiration of violence, and misogyny
often associated with aggressive sports influences the likelihood of men engaging in
dating aggression and sexual coercion when they reach college. However, it is very
important to recognize that the retrospective design of the present study does not
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 452
452 Violence Against Women
allow for the determination of causal relationships. Our results simply indicate
associations. It is certainly possible that other factors may account for both participation in aggressive high school sports and college dating aggression. For example,
boys with strong hostile masculinity, a feature known to be predictive of later relationship aggression, may be attracted to aggressive high school sports. Although there
are formidable pragmatic obstacles to prospective studies of relationship aggression, it is not possible to determine causal relationships or understand developmental
processes without appropriate longitudinal studies.
It is also important to recognize that the absolute size of the differences found in
this study were generally small. Similarly, the number of acts of physical aggression,
sexual coercion, or injury that were reported was small. This should not be surprising. After all, most college men, regardless of their background and experiences, do
not physically or sexually assault their dating partners. These serious but statistically
infrequent behaviors occur only with a confluence of many separate and complex
attitudinal, situational, and societal variables. Participation in aggressive high school
sports is simply one of many important influences in the multiple developmental
pathways leading to relationship aggression.
References
Adams-Curtis, L. E., & Forbes, G. B. (2004). College women’s experiences of sexual coercion: A review
of cultural, perpetrator, victim, and situational variables. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5, 91-122.
Benedict, J. R. (1997). Public heroes private felons: Athletes and crimes against women. Boston:
Northeastern University Press.
Benedict, J. R. (1998). Athletes and acquaintance rape. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Blumstein, A., & Benedict, J. (1999). Criminal violence of NFL players compared with the general
population. Chance, 12, 12-15.
Boeringer, S. B. (1999). Associations of rape-supportive attitudes with fraternal and athletic participation.
Violence Against Women, 5, 81-90.
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: Men, women, and rape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Burt, M. A. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
38, 217-230.
Check, J. V. P., Malamuth, N. M., Elias, B., & Barton, S. (1985, April). On hostile ground. Psychology
Today, pp. 56-61.
Coakley, J. (2001). Sport in society: Issues and controversies (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Coakley, J. (2002). Using sports to control deviance and violence among youth: Let’s be critical and
cautious. In M. Gatz, M. A. Messner, & S. J. Ball-Rokeach (Eds.), Paradoxes of youth and sport
(pp. 13-30). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Cook, S. L. (2002). Self-reports of sexual, physical, and nonphysical abuse perpetration: A comparison of
three measures. Violence Against Women, 8, 541-565.
Crosset, T. (1990). Masculinity, sexuality, and the development of modern sport. In M. A. Messner &
D. F. Sabo (Eds.), Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist perspectives (pp. 45-54). Champaign,
IL: Human Kinetics.
Crosset, T. (2002). Athletic affiliation and violence against women: Toward a structural prevention
project. In J. McKay, M. A. Messner, & D. Sabo (Eds.), Masculinities, gender relations, and sport
(pp. 147-161). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 453
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 453
Crosset, T. W., Benedict, J. R., & McDonald, M. A. (1995). Male student-athletes reported for sexual
assault: A survey of campus police departments and judicial affairs offices. Journal of Sport & Social
Issues, 19, 126-140.
Crosset, T. W., & Ptacek, J. (1996). Male student-athletes and violence against women: A survey of campus judicial affairs offices. Violence Against Women, 2, 163-179.
Currie, D. H. (1998). Violent men or violent women? Whose definition counts? In R. K. Bergen (Ed.),
Issues in intimate violence (pp. 97-111). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Curry, T. J. (1991). Fraternal bonding in the locker room: A profeminist analysis of talk about competition
and women. Sociology of Sport Journal, 8, 119-135.
Dabbs, E. E. (1998). Intentional fouls: Athletes and violence against women. Columbia Journal of Law
and Social Problems, 31, 167-199.
Dean, K. E., & Malamuth, N. M. (1997). Characteristics of men who aggress sexually and men who imagine aggressing: Risk and moderating variables. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72,
449-455.
DeKerseredy, W. S., & Schwartz, M. D. (1998). Male peer support and woman abuse in postsecondary
school courtship: Suggestions for new directions in sociological research. In R. K. Bergen (Ed.),
Issues in intimate violence (pp. 83-96). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dwyer, D. (2000). Interpersonal relationships. New York: Routledge.
Ewing, M. E., Gano-Overway, L. A., Branta, C. F., & Seefeldt, V. D. (2002). The role of sports in youth
development. In M. Gatz, M. A. Messner, & S. J. Ball-Rokeach (Eds.), Paradoxes of youth and sport
(pp. 31-47). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Forbes, G. B., & Adams-Curtis, L. (2001). Experiences with sexual coercion in college males and
females: Role of family conflict, sexist attitudes, acceptance of rape myths, self-esteem, and the bigfive personality factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 865-889.
Forbes, G. B., Adams-Curtis, L. E., & White, K. B. (2004). First and second generation measures of sexism, rape myths and related beliefs, and hostility toward women: Their interrelationships and association with college students’ experiences with dating aggression and sexual coercion. Violence Against
Women, 10, 236-261.
Frintner, M. P., & Rubinson, L. (1993). Acquaintance rape: The influence of alcohol, fraternity membership, and sports team membership. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, 19, 272-284.
Gelles, R. J. (1974). The violent home. Beverly Hill, CA: Sage.
Gelles, R. J. (1979). Family violence. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent
sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491-512.
Glick, P. J., & Fiske, S. T. (1997). Hostile and benevolent sexism: Measuring ambivalent sexist attitudes
toward women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 119-135.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56, 109-118.
Humphrey, S. E., & Kahn, A. S. (2000). Fraternities, athletic teams, and rape: Importance of identification with a risky group. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 1313-1322.
Kann, L., Kinchen, S. A., Williams, B. I., Ross, J. G., Lowry, R., Grunbaum, J. A., et al. (2000). Youth
risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1999. Journal of School Health, 70, 271-285.
Kidd, B. (1990). The Men’s Cultural Centre: Sports and the dynamic of women’s oppression/men’s
repression. In M. A. Messner & D. F. Sabo (Eds.), Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist perspectives (pp. 31-43). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Kimmel, M. S. (2002). “Gender symmetry” in domestic violence: A substantive and methodological
review. Violence Against Women, 8, 1263-1332.
Koss, M. P. (1988). Hidden rape: Sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of students in
higher education. In A. W. Burgess (Ed.), Rape and sexual assault: II (pp. 3-25). New York: Garland.
Koss, M. P., & Gaines, J. A. (1993). The prediction of sexual aggression by alcohol use, athletic participation,
and fraternity affiliation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8, 94-108.
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 454
454 Violence Against Women
Koss, M. P., Gidycz, C. A., & Wisniewski, N. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and Prevalence of
sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of higher education. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162-170.
Lanier, C. A. (2001). Rape-accepting attitudes: Precursors to or consequences of forced sex. Violence
Against Women, 7, 876-885.
Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1994). Rape myths: In review. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18,
133-164.
Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1995). Attitudinal antecedents of rape myth acceptance: A theoretical and empirical reexamination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 704-711.
Maccoby, E. E. (1998). The two sexes: Growing up apart, coming together. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Malamuth, N. M. (1986). Predictors of naturalistic sexual aggression. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 50, 953-962.
Malamuth, N. M. (1998). The confluence model as an organizing framework for research on sexually
aggressive men: Risk moderators, imagined aggression, and pornography consumption. In R. G. Geen
& E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Human aggression: Theories, research, and implications for social policy
(pp. 229-245). New York: Academic Press.
Malamuth, N. M., Heavey, C. L., & Linz, D. (1993). Predicting men’s antisocial behavior against women:
The interaction model of sexual aggression. In G. C. N. Hall, R. Hirschman, J. R. Graham, &
M. S. Zaragoza (Eds.), Sexual aggression: Issues in etiology, assessment, and treatment (pp. 63-97).
Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.
Malamuth, N. M., Linz, D., Heavey, C. L., Barnes, G., & Aker, M. (1995). Using the confluence model
of sexual aggression to predict men’s conflict with women: A 10-year follow-up study. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 353-369.
Malamuth, N. M., Sockloskie, J. S., Koss, M. P., & Tanaka, J. S. (1991). Characteristics of aggressors
against women: Testing a model using a national sample of college students. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 59, 670-681.
McPherson, D. G. (2002). Sport, youth, violence, and the media: An activist athlete’s point of view. In
M. Gatz, M. A. Messner, & S. J. Ball-Rokeach (Eds.), Paradoxes of youth and sport (pp. 241-247).
Albany: State University of New York Press.
Messner, M. A., & Sabo, D. F. (1990). Toward a critical feminist reappraisal of sport, men, and the gender order. In M. A. Messner & D. F. Sabo (Eds.), Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist
perspectives (pp. 1-15). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Messner, M. A., & Stevens, M. A. (2002). Scoring without consent: Confronting male athletes’ violence
against women. In M. Gatz, M. A. Messner, & S. J. Ball-Rokeach (Eds.), Paradoxes of youth and sport
(pp. 225-239). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Morrison, T. G., Parriag, A. V., & Morrison, M. A. (1999). The psychometric properties of the
Homonegativity Scale. Journal of Homosexuality, 37, 111-126.
Nack, W., & Munson, L. (1995, July 31). Sports’ dirty secret. Sports Illustrated, pp. 62-70.
Nelson, M. H. (1994). The stronger women get, the more men love football: Sexism and the American
culture of sport. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Overholster, J. C., & Beck, S. (1986). Multimethod assessment of rapists, child molesters, and three control groups on behavioral and psychological measures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 56, 682-687.
Rennison, C. (2002). Criminal victimization 2001: Changes 2000-01 with trends 1993-2001. Washington,
DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Sabo, D. F., & Pamepinto, J. (1990). Football ritual and the social reproduction of masculinity. In
M. A. Messner & D. F. Sabo (Eds.), Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist perspectives
(pp. 115-127). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Sanday, P. R. (1981). The socio-cultural context of rape: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Social Issues,
37, 5-7, 9-18, 22-27.
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.
VAW288126.qxd
3/27/2006
6:40 PM
Page 455
Forbes et al. / Male Sports and Aggression Against Women 455
Sanday, P. R. (1996a). Rape-prone versus rape-free campus cultures. Violence Against Women, 2, 191-208.
Sanday, P. R. (1996b). A woman scorned: Acquaintance rape on trial. New York: Doubleday.
Sawyer, R. G., Thompson, E. E., & Chicorelli, A. M. (2002). Rape myth acceptance among intercollegiate student athletes: A preliminary examination. American Journal of Health Studies, 18, 19-25.
Silverman, J. G., Raj, A., Mucci, L. A., & Hathaway, J. E. (2001). Dating violence, violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy,
and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 286, 572-579.
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The Conflict Tactics Scales. Journal
of Marriage and Family, 41, 75-88.
Straus, M. A. (1990). The Conflict Tactics Scale and its critics: An evaluation and new data on validity and
reliability. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families (pp. 49-73).
New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (1980). Behind closed doors. Garden City, NJ: Anchor Press.
Straus, M. A., Hambly, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics
Scales (CTS2): Developmental and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283-316.
Tolman, D. L., Spencer, R., Rosen-Reynoso, M., & Porche, M. V. (2003). Sowing the seeds of violence
in heterosexual relationships: Early adolescents narrate compulsory heterosexuality. Journal of Social
Issues, 59, 159-178.
Velicer, W. F., Huckel, L. H., & Hansen, C. E. (1989). A measurement model for measuring attitudes
toward violence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 349-364.
Weir, T. (1990, May 17). Athletes must play by society’s rules. USA Today, p. 3C.
Weir, T. (1995, September 13). Players must learn abuse of women is not part of the playbook. USA
Today, p. 2C.
White, J. W., Donat, P. L. N., & Bondurant, B. (2001). A developmental examination of violence against girls
and women. In R. K. Unger (Ed.), Handbook of the psychology of women and gender (pp. 343-357).
New York: John Wiley.
Whitson, D. (1990). Sport in the social construction of masculinity. In M. A. Messner & D. F. Sabo (Eds.),
Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist perspectives (pp. 19-29). Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics.
Gordon B. Forbes is a professor of psychology in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Millikin
University. His research interests include sexism, body dissatisfaction, and relationship violence in college students. He, along with Dr. Adams-Curtis, cofounded the Millikin Project for the Study of Social
Perceptions.
Leah E. Adams-Curtis, a former associate professor of psychology in the Department of Behavioral
Sciences at Millikin University, is associate dean of the Department of Social Sciences at Illinois Central
College. Her research interests include sexual coercion in college students, perceptions of women in various roles, and development in nonhuman primates.
Alexis H. Pakalka is an intercollegiate athlete and member of the Millikin Project on Social Perceptions.
She is a 2003 graduate of Millikin University.
Kay B. White is an associate professor of social work in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at
Millikin University and a member of the Millikin Project on Social Perceptions. In addition to her work
with the project, she studies nontraditional returning college students, the role of the social work internship, and equine therapy.
Downloaded from http://vaw.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MINNESOTA DULUTH on February 19, 2008
© 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.