Adolescent boys who played football, basketball or both were about two times more likely to have recently abused their girlfriends compared to other boys, according to a California study.
Sports that encourage "hypermasculinity" on the field may cause teenage boys to translate that aggression into violence at home, researchers say. But though locker talk could foster these attitudes, it could also teach them about healthy relationships.
"We need to create a safe place for our youth to discuss healthy masculinity, healthy relationships and the idea that violence never equals strength," said Heather McCauley, a researcher at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, in a Reuters report.
Two million U.S. women sustain injuries as a result of partner violence annually, and nearly one quarter of women experience violence by a current or former spouse or boyfriend at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McCauley led her team in investigating 1,648 male high school athletes who had been in at least one relationship with a girl for more than one week. When asked about their attitude toward gender roles and whether they had physically, verbally or sexually abused their dating partners during the previous three months, researchers found that 276 boys reported being involved in some type of relationship abuse.
"So this indicates that there's something in the environment of these youths even beyond these gender attitudes that is sending the message that it's acceptable to use aggression and violence off the field and in their dating relationships," McCauley said.
Basketball and football players in particular showed this aggressive behavior compared to all other sports.
Although not involved in the study, Merten, from the Youth and Family Health Research lab at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, says there's a "spillover theory" that says "what you do in your everyday life tends to spillover" into relationships.
McCauley has also studied the Coaching Boys into Men program, created by the organization Futures Without Violence to engage men and boys in the prevention of violence against women and girls.
"We found that one year later, boys who were exposed to the Coaching Boys into Men program reported less abuse perpetration against their dating partners, so it certainly is an exciting program for sure," she said.
