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Abstract
Hazing has been defined as "any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the persons willingness to participate" (Hoover, 1999, p.8). Hazing has been found to be a common experience for varsity athletes in colleges (Allan & Madden, 2008; Hoover, 1999) and high schools (Hoover, 2000). Being hazed has been linked to negative physical and psychological outcomes including death, blunt trauma, acute alcohol intoxication, depression and post traumatic stress disorder (Brakenridge, 1997; Finkel, 2002; Nuwer, 2000; Sussberg, 2003). Despite the potential seriousness of hazing activities, very few studies have examined hazing from a theoretical perspective, particularly within the context of athletics. The purpose of the present study was to utilize Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) to predict the perpetration of hazing behaviour, with a particular focus on select personal and environmental factors. Participants included 338 athletes from 27 sports teams at seven Atlantic Canadian universities. Participants completed questionnaires related to personal factors (moral disengagement, rookie experiences with hazing, attitudes toward hazing, gender) and environmental factors (team size, degree of physical contact) were also measured. The results indicated that the personal and environmental factors significantly predicted the perpetration of hazing behaviours. The personal factor, experiences with hazing as a rookie, was found to be the most powerful predictor of hazing experiences as a veteran. Other significant predictors included moral disengagement, attitudes about the purpose of initiation, gender and the degree of physical contact in the sport. The broader theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail.
