Revealing an empirical understanding of aggression and violent behavior in athletics

Despite the multitude of published accounts that focus on “aggressive athletes,” scientific investigation into aggression and violence within an athletic population has been surprisingly absent. Publications have often been more editorial in nature, with scientific rigor, sound methodology, and empirical exploration appearing to be secondary concerns. The present review seeks to summarize what is currently known about aggression and violence in sports through actual empirical investigation. The information presented herein was synthesized from the inclusion of studies that met strict scientific and methodological inclusion criteria, representing less than one-third of published studies on the subject over the past 30 years.

Research Highlights
► Aggressive athletes has not been sufficiently studied using scientific methods
► Defining aggression continues to be a primary methodological problem
► Research has limited an informed discussion of this subject
► Perceptions of violence and morality development may influence on-field aggression
► Research has focused too much on the negative aspects of aggression