Risk perception and risk-taking among skateboarders

Abstract

Skateboarding is considered to be a high risk activity. Although many studies have identified risk factors associated with skateboarding injuries, few have provided detailed in-depth knowledge on participants’ psychological dispositions towards risk behaviors. The aim of this study was to identify individual factors associated with risk perception and risk-taking among skateboarders. Telephone interviews were conducted with 158 skateboarders (mean age = 18.1 years) recruited in 11 Montreal skateparks. Age, selfefficacy, previous injuries, fear of being injured, sensation seeking and experience level were all included in two linear regression models that were run for risk perception and risk-taking. Age, experience level, sensation seeking, and risk perception are significant explanatory variables of risk-taking. Results show that sensation seeking was the only significant factor associated with risk perception. These results allow for a better understanding of the behavior of skateboarders, they highlight the importance of impulsive sensation seeking in risk perception as well as risk-taking. This study characterizes skateboarders who take risks and provides additional information on interventions for injury prevention.