By Tom Jacobs

February 2nd, 2008

Miller-McCune

Sports build character — or so we have been told by coaches, fans and a fair number of academics. A young athlete — say, a member of a high school football team — learns what it takes to achieve a goal, absorbing on a visceral level such crucial concepts as teamwork, self-discipline and fair play.

Time out, cry some social scientists. Youth sports, they counter, instill a machismo mindset, promote a winning-is-everything mentality and reinforce the notion that physical violence is an acceptable way to resolve problems.

So which is it? A series of studies in recent years have come to different conclusions, with academics unable to agree on even the seemingly simple question of whether high school athletes are more likely to engage in violent behavior.

Read on...