Predictors of sports spectatorsʹ proclivity for riotous behaviour in Finland and Canada

Male spectators (N = 178) attending hockey games in Finland and Canada provided ratings of the strength of their motives for attendance. Of six plausible reasons, liking to watch player fights was rated least important by the Finns whereas it was third in importance for Canadians. Subjects also provided information with regard to their age, fight history, the number of accompanying persons and completed a measure of sensation seeking. With the exception of the number of accompanying persons, all variables were related in both countries to subjects self-reported likelihood of escalating a crowd disturbance. The results were discussed in the context of previous findings from a series of field studies using the same paradigm.