A comparison of aggressive traits between female athletes and nonathletes, and between females in team sports as compared to females in individual sports

The purpose of this study was to compare the aggression of female athletes and nonathletes. A further comparison was made between female athletes participating in team and individual sports and between female nonathletes who preferred either a team or individual sport.

Sixty college females from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, served as subjects for this study. Teams included in the study were basketball (N = 7), volleyball (N = 8), tennis (N = 5), swimming (N = 5), track and field (N = 5), and nonathletes (N = 30). The subjects were administered the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory which was a pencilpaper test. The Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory was chosen for the testing instrument because it had eight subfactors allowing for more detailed analysis of aggressive behavior.

Data were analyzed by using Two-Way Analysis of Variance. Based on this analysis the following conclusions were made:

1. There was no significant difference found between athletes and nonathletes on total aggression.

2. There was no significant difference found between athletes and nonathletes on any of the eight subfactors.

3. There was a significant difference found at the .05 level between participants in team sports as compared to those participants in individual sports. Team sport participants were significantly higher than individual sport participants on total aggression, assault, and indirect hostility.

4. There was no significant difference found between participants in team sports and individual sports on any other of the subfactors.

5. There was no significant interaction of participants and type for total aggression.

6. There was no significant interaction of participants and type for any of the subfactors.