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 representative of the general Italian population were compared using the factor scores and total scores on the Italian version of the Buss and Durkee questionnaire. Analysis suggests a positive correlation between aggressiveness and sport and are compatible with the hypothesis that sporting activities serve as a means of controlling aggressiveness of women and help the individual psychosocial development of men. The decision to practice sports would seem to be connected with the needs to conform to cultural stereotypes, which portray the man as aggressive and the women as gentle and submissive.