Assessment of Aggression and Violence in Soccer Players

Abstract

In a soccer match there is often a variety of aggressive and violent actions by soccer players. Understanding the psychological predisposition of athletes would guide psychological intervention to improve performance. The aim of this research was to discriminate predictor variables of aggressive and/or violent behaviour in soccer players among variables such as sport identity, aggressive identity, impulsivity, perfectionism and difficulty in emotional regulation. For this purpose, 46 players from 2 soccer teams of the Andalusian Soccer Federation, both sexes, senior category (24 men and 22 women; mean age: M=24.5 SD=5.9), completed the Questionnaire of aggressive and violent behaviour for athletes (CAVD), the State impulsivity scale (EIE), the Emotional regulation difficulties scale (DERS), the Perfectionism scale (MIPS) and an ad hoc Scale of beliefs about aggressive identity (CIAF). Descriptive and discriminant analyses were conducted. The results showed different psychological variables that predict the different aggressive and violent manifestations depending on whether they were directed at the opponent, the referee, the public, teammates or the player himself. No correlation was found between violent behaviour and aggressive performance in relation to the game. In conclusion, soccer players present different psychological predisposition to aggressive or violent manifestations according to their scores in impulsivity, behavioral aggressive identity and global aggressive identity.