Psychological profiles and emotional regulation characteristics of women engaged in risk-taking sports

Anxiety Stress Coping. 2007 Dec;20(4):421-35. doi: 10.1080/10615800701330176.

Abstract

We investigated the psychological profiles and emotional regulation characteristics of women involved in risk-taking sports. The research sample (N=180) consisted of three groups of women engaged in: (1) non-risk sports (N=90); (2) risk-taking sports for leisure purposes (N=53); or (3) risk-taking sports as professionals (N=37). Each participant completed five questionnaires, the Sensation Seeking Scale, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Risk & Excitement Inventory, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The results revealed significant differences between the groups' profiles. Of particular interest are the differences that exist between the profiles of Group 2 (escape profile, masculine gender identity, and high scores on sensation seeking, impulsivity, alexithymia) and Group 3 (compensation profile, androgynous gender identity, average score on sensation seeking, and low scores on impulsivity, alexithymia). We propose that the professional woman might be considered a model for preventing destructive risk-taking behaviors.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Emotions*
  • Exploratory Behavior
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leisure Activities
  • Personality Inventory
  • Personality*
  • Psychological Tests*
  • Risk-Taking
  • Role
  • Sports / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires