Behavioral variables might play an important role in explaining the differences in injury rates across winter sport disciplines and injury prevention programs might be more specifically designed based on this knowledge. On ski slopes, alpine skiing, snowboarding, and ski touring are the predominant winter sport disciplines. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate possible differences in injury-related behavioral variables between practitioners of these disciplines. Using a matched re-analysis approach of a cross-sectional survey, 414 winter sport participants (alpine skiers, snowboarders, ski tourers, each n = 138) were analyzed on the differences in sensation seeking, treated injuries, and injury-related behavioral variables. Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel and Friedman tests revealed significantly higher sensation seeking, p < 0.001, and a significantly higher percentage of participants reporting to have consumed alcohol in the past five skiing days, p = 0.006, in snowboarders compared to alpine skiers. The participants with treated injuries showed higher sensation seeking, p < 0.050, and a higher percentage of snowboarders, p = 0.020, compared to participants without treated injuries. Injury prevention programs for snowboarders, who remain an important risk group for injury prevention, might benefit from considering a possibly higher percentage of alcohol-consuming participants and from providing information on injury-related risks of sensation seeking.
Keywords: alpine skiing; sensation seeking; ski touring; snowboarding.