Sports aggression may ‘spillover’ in teen relationships

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Teenage boys who played football, basketball or both were about twice as likely as other boys to have recently abused their girlfriends in a new study from California. Researchers say the “hypermasculine” attitudes encouraged in some sports may foster aggression off the field, but the locker room can also be a place to teach boys about healthy relationships and avoiding violence. “We need to create a safe place for our youth to discuss healthy masculinity, healthy relationships and the idea that violence never equals strength,” said Heather McCauley, a researcher at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, who led the study. In the U.S., women experience 2 million injuries from intimate partner violence each year, and nearly one quarter of women experience violence by a current or former spouse or boyfriend at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.