Investigating the Impact of Team Identification on the Willingness to Commit Verbal and Physical Aggression by Youth Baseball Spectators

Authors

  • Daniel L. Wann Murray State University
  • Stephen Weaver Murray State University
  • Brian Belva Murray State University
  • Sagan Ladd Murray State University
  • Sam Armstrong Murray State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v1i1.4919

Abstract

The current investigation was designed to extend previous work on the aggressive actions of youth baseball spectators (Hennessy & Schwartz, 2007) by incorporating team identification into the research. Team identification, the extent to which a fan feels a psychological connection to a team, (Wann, Melnick, Russell, & Pease, 2001) has been found to be an important predictor of a wide variety of aggressive actions among sport consumers (Wann, 2006). Spectators (N = 80) at youth baseball games completed a questionnaire packet assessing demographics, team identification, vengeance, anger, hostility, and the likelihood of acting in a verbally or physically aggressive manner toward a number of potential targets (e.g., officials, opposing players). Consistent with expectations, team identification predicted a willingness to commit verbally aggressive acts. However, identification did not predict physical aggression.

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Published

2015-06-16

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Wann, D. L., Weaver, S., Belva, B., Ladd, S., & Armstrong, S. (2015). Investigating the Impact of Team Identification on the Willingness to Commit Verbal and Physical Aggression by Youth Baseball Spectators. Journal of Amateur Sport, 1(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v1i1.4919