THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPRESSION OF ANGER AND AGGRESSION IN DATING RELATIONSHIPS FOR MALE COLLEGE ATHLETES IN CONTACT AND NON-CONTACT SPORTS By DYLAN BURNS Bachelor of Science, Journalism Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 1999 Master of Science, Counseling Psychology Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 2002 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December, 2009 THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPRESSION OF ANGER AND AGGRESSION IN DATING RELATIONSHIPS FOR MALE COLLEGE ATHLETES IN CONTACT AND NON-CONTACT SPORTS Dissertation Committee: Dr. Carrie Winterowd Dissertation Adviser Dr. Don Boswell Dr. Steve Edwards Dr. Steve Harrist Dr. John Chaney Dean of the Graduate College . ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my utmost gratitude to the people who have contributed to my successful completion of my Ph.D. A heartfelt thank you to my dissertation chair, Dr. Carrie Winterowd, whose influence, hard work, and patience during the entire process has been invaluable to me on many levels. I would also like to thank Dr. Steve Edwards for his willingness to provide much-appreciated guidance when it was most needed during unique circumstances. I would like to thank Dr. Don Boswell, whose wisdom and sense of humor have had a significant effect on my development as both a clinician and a person. A special thank you to my committee members, Dr. Steven Harrist, and Dr. John Chaney, for their willingness to serve and their support through the process. Thank you to the amazing family and friends that my life has been blessed with. Specifically, my parents, Larry and Donna Burns, who have always provided me with unending love and encouragement with everything in life. Thank you to my sister, Laryn, and my brother Brett, whose love and support have always inspired me to continue. Finally, to my loving partner and confidant Alissa, who has loved and supported me in the most profound ways during this process, ways that I could not begin to explain in writing. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 Anger........................................................................................................................4 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................7 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................7 Hypotheses ...............................................................................................................7 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE..................................................................................41 Aggression and Violence in Sports ........................................................................42 Athletes and Identity Development .......................................................................49 Aggression and Domestic Violence Among College Students..............................53 III. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................8 Participants ...............................................................................................................8 Measures ................................................................................................................10 Demographic Sheet ................................................................................................14 Results ....................................................................................................................15 iv Chapter Page IV. FINDINGS .............................................................................................................15 Results ……………………………………………………………………………15 V. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................18 Discussion ..............................................................................................................18 Implications............................................................................................................22 Limitations .............................................................................................................23 Future Research .....................................................................................................24 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................25 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................58 APPENDIX A – INFORMED CONSENT FORM ……………………………...58 APPENDIX B – DEMOGRAPHIC SHEET …………………………………….59 APPENDIX C – STAXI-2 FORM ……………………………………………….60 APPENDIX D – CTS-2 FORM ………………………………………………….62 APPENDIX E – RESOURCE LIST ……………………………………………..67 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Demographics of the Sample 35 2 Means and Standard Deviation Scores for STAXI-2 Anger Subscales 37 3 Means and Standard Deviation Scores for the Conflict-Tactics Subscales 38 4 Means and Standard Deviations for STAXI-2 Anger Subscales by Type of Sport 39 5 Means and Standard Deviations for the CTS-3 Subscales by Type of Sport 40 vi The Experience and Expression of Anger and Aggression in Dating Relationships for Male College Athletes in Contact and Non-Contact Sports Introduction Within the world of sports, one of the most heated current topics is that of athletes and their aggressive behavior in their sport as well as in their personal lives. Most sport psychologists and personnel agree that athletes are socialized to use anger and aggression as empowering tactics in their respective sports as a way to increase motivation, to heighten their awareness and focus, to improve their performance, and to win competitions (Rains, 1980). Sanctioned aggression is the use of physical force that is recognized as being a part of the sport itself, that is “within the rules” of competition. While no official classification of sports types exist, sports can be informally categorized into different types based on the level of sanctioned contact and/or aggression used. Contact sports are defined as those involving some regular physical contact with other athletes as part of the sport (i.e., takedowns, checking, fouling). Examples of contact sports include wrestling and basketball. Non-contact sports are defined as those involving limited (i.e., sliding into bases) or no contact with other athletes. Examples of non-contact sports include baseball, track and field, swimming, and golf. While physical contact and/or aggression in competitive sports are expected, there is growing concern that athletes are using anger and aggression inappropriately in sports. Unsanctioned aggression is the use of physical force and/or violence that is not fit with 1 the rules of the game or sport (Kerr, 1999). Boxill (2003) warns of the potential for brutality in sport. There is general agreement that the use of unsanctioned aggression in sport is deplorable (Weinberg & Gould, 1999; Widmeyer, 1984). Because of this, suggestions have been posed to reduce the level of aggression in sports (Tenenbaum, Stewart, Singer, & Duda, 1997). These suggestions usually focus on punishment, education and rule change, or stringent enforcement, although they have received criticism for unrealistic expectations and misdirected motivations (Kerr, 1999). To date, researchers have neglected to explore the issues of anger and aggression in athletes and non-athletes. Most of the research has focused on aggression, which can be viewed as the behavioral manifestation of anger. Direct competition can lead to conflict and, as with many conflicts between competing individuals or groups, attempts at hierarchical resolution may involve the use of aggression (Leith, 1982). There is research evidence that athletes are exposed to aggression and violence not only in the sport itself, but also in the coaching they receive, which may influence their experience of anger and use of unsanctioned aggression in sports. High school and college athletes report experiencing verbal intimidation, physical intimidation, and physical violence within the athletic programs, including the coaching they receive. In fact, coaching styles of intimidation and violence significantly predicted athletes’ use of physical violence in sports (e.g., Shields & Edgar, 1999). These results suggest that not only athletes, but also coaches, deserve close scrutiny when it comes to the common themes of sports violence. 2 Athletes are also using physical force and aggression not only within their sports, but also outside of sports, in their relationships with partners and spouses (Staffo, 2001). While incidents of domestic violence and assault by athletes have been reported in the news, less is known in the psychosocial research literature regarding athletes’ experience of anger and violence in their domestic relationships with partners/spouses and the factors associated with these experiences. While researchers have explored dating violence among college students in general (e.g., Amar & Gennaro, 2005; Murray & Kardatzke, 2007; Strauss, 2004), less is known about the experience of anger and aggression in college athletes, particularly their use of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression in their dating relationships; and how the type of sport athletes participate in may have an influence on anger and aggression in dating relationships. The majority of research to date has focused on sexual assault among athletes compared to college students in general. Male athletes have been found to be six times more likely to be reported for sexual assault on college campuses compared to non- athlete male students (Crossett, Benedict, & McDonald, 1995). Similarly, athletes have been found to be 5.5 times more likely to commit date rape compared to the general population of college students (Wieberg, 1991). In a three-year survey study, athletes were found to be involved in one-third of the sexual assaults reported on college campuses (Eskenazi, 1990). Only one study to date has explored the experience of anger and the use of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression used in dating relationships for college athletes compared to college students in general (i.e., non-athletes; Winterowd & 3 Edwards, 2002). Male college athletes admitted to inflicting injuries on their partners more so than non-athletes. However, they also report more partner-initiated aggression towards them compared to non-athletes (Winterowd & Edwards, 2002). Of interest, few researchers have explored anger as an important emotional experience for athletes as well as the use of aggressive tactics in relationships outside of their sport. In the next section, anger will be defined and explored. Anger Anger is often a precursor to aggression and is influenced by complex interactions between multiple personal and environmental variables, including neurological and endocrine processes as well as temperament (Deffenbacher, 1996). Pre-anger state and appraisal processes as well as external events triggering memories and images can interact to influence the internal experience of anger and the aggressive responses that follow. Anger can be elicited by a relatively clear external precipitant, which often times is easily identified by an individual (Deffenbacher, 1996); however, unconscious processes can also influence anger experience and expression. The ways athletes experience and express their anger may have a significant impact on their use of physical aggression and violence, both inside and outside of sports. Anger can be defined as “a psychobiological emotional state or condition that consists of feelings that vary in intensity from mild irritation or annoyance to intense fury and rage, accompanied by activation and of neuroendocrine processes and arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (Spielberger, 1999, 19). Anger is generally considered to be a separate, and more basic, concept than either hostility or aggression. Hostility refers to negative attitudes toward others, with intentions to engage in aggressive, and often times, 4