‘We do it for the team’ - Student athletes’ initiation practices and their impact on group cohesion.

Abstract

Hazing, or inappropriate initiation activities, are a well-documented occurrence within university sport team societies. This study examined the occurrence of initiation activities in relation to team cohesion. 154 participants completed the Group Environment Questionnaire and the Team Cohesion Questionnaire in relation to initiation activities at their institution. Results revealed that athletes were more aware of appropriate than inappropriate initiation activities, with males being aware of a higher occurrence of inappropriate activities than females. Results were also analysed by sport type, revealing that interactive team sport players recorded higher hazing scores than co-acting players. With regard to cohesion, no significant relationship was found between hazing and cohesion suggesting the notion that initiations enhance cohesion in sport is untrue.