Initiative of the AASP International Relations Committee

The purpose of this study was to investigate risk perceptions, emotion regulation, and personality traits in a mixed sample of young people involved in high-risk sports. Participants were 102 (71 males, 31 females) sport participants aged between 16 and 28 years (M = 22.2; SD = 3.31); 49 participated in high-risk sports and 53 did not. Participants completed the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Behavioral Activation Scale/Behavioral Inhibition Scale, and the Physical Risk Assessment Inventory. MANOVA results, using sport participation type and gender as independent variables, showed that young people who participated in high-risk sports have higher impulsivity, attribute positive affect to dangerous experiences, and show a greater propensity for thrill and adventure, when compared with the other group. Additionally, males reported a greater tendency to action and experience positive affectivity in the presence of stimuli of reward: they minimize risks and do not perceive potentially dangerous situations as unpleasant. In contrast, females showed a greater balance between the two systems of emotional regulation: impulsivity and the tendency to action were offset by the anxiety and inhibition caused by the presence of aversive stimuli. These findings outline the relevance of impulsivity as a temperamental vulnerability factor for young people who participate in high-risk sports, confirm gender differences and claim for similarities with other risk behaviors.