The Effect of Personality Traits and Beliefs on the Relationship between Injury Severity and Subsequent Sport Risk-Taking among Adolescents

Abstract

In winter sports, the high injury rate among adolescents raises questions about the way they practice their sport. It also raises interrogations on the impact of an injury on their behavior on the slopes. The few studies that looked at the relationship between previous injury and subsequent risk taking in sports ranged from no correlation (Kontos, 2004) to a positive correlation (Thomson et al., 2012). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between previous injuries and subsequent risk taking among adolescent snowboarders and alpine skiers, controlling for possible effects of beliefs related to risk taking and personality traits. We analyzed cross-sectional from 683 Canadian adolescents snowboarders and alpine skiers (367 boys, 316 girls), aged 14 to 17 years. Participants provided self-reported informations that evaluated risk-taking, impulsivity, sensation seeking, physical aggression. Different aspects of their sport practices, riskrelated beliefs, and their sports-related injuries were assessed. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the severity of snowboarding- or alpine-skiing-related injuries that had occurred in the previous 12 months was associated with greater risk taking, especially among impulsive adolescents. The regression model explained 57.4% of the variance of the risk-taking scale. The association between injury severity and risk taking remained after controlling for sex, risk-related cognitive beliefs (perceived skills, risk estimation, and valorization of injuries), and personality traits (sensation seeking impulsivity, and physical aggression).. Injury might act as positive reinforcement for risk taking among some adolescent snowboarders and alpine skiers.