COMPARISON OF AGGRESSIVE-BEHAVIOR BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN SPORT

A group of 33 sportsmen and 43 sportswomen and a group of 488 subjects (less than 30 years old) selected from a sample of 816 subjects repre sentative of the general Italian population were compared using the fa ctor scores and total scores on the Italian version of the Buss and Du rkee questionnaire. Analysis suggests a positive correlation between a ggressiveness and sport and are compatible with the hypothesis that sp orting activities serve as a means of controlling aggressiveness of wo men and help the individual psychosocial development of men. The decis ion to practice sports would seem to be connected with the needs to co nform to cultural stereotypes, which portray die man as aggressive and the woman as gentle and submissive.