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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1403499
This article is part of the Research Topic Health, Wellbeing, Performance and Learning in Extreme Contexts and Natural Environments View all 4 articles

What factors explain extreme sport participation? A Systematic Review

Provisionally accepted
Odette Hornby Odette Hornby 1Gareth Roderique-Davies Gareth Roderique-Davies 1Robert M. Heirene Robert M. Heirene 2Elin Thorkildsen Elin Thorkildsen 1Sophie Bradbury Sophie Bradbury 1Iwan Rowlands Iwan Rowlands 1Egan Goodison Egan Goodison 1Jodie Gill Jodie Gill 1David A. Shearer David A. Shearer 1*
  • 1 University of South Wales, Treforest, United Kingdom
  • 2 The University of Sydney, Darlington, New South Wales, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Extreme sport participation is growing, yet it is still not clear exactly what motivates individuals to participate in sports where accidents can lead to serious injury or death. The purpose of this systematic review was to review and assess current research and identify the factors that explain engagement in extreme sport participation. Method: A systematic review of PsycInfo, ProQuest, PsychArticles, SportDiscus and Google Scholar was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. Eligibility criteria were defined to identify studies exploring the factors that explain or are associated with taking part in extreme sports. Articles published in English in peer-reviewed journals were retrieved. Results: A total of 35 studies met the eligibility criteria. The sample comprised 17 qualitative studies, 12 quantitative studies, 5 case studies and 1 mixed method study. Findings were categorised into five key themes; ‘existential and external’ (external reasons for participation, e.g., being in nature), ‘personality’ (i.e., stable traits that predicted participation e.g., sensation seeking), ‘motivation characteristics’ (i.e., one’s capability and confidence whilst participating, e.g., self-determination theory), ‘managing risk’ (i.e., explanation centred around the desire to take risks e.g., experiential vs analytical) and ‘analogies with addiction and withdrawal’ (i.e., the behavioural response experienced whilst abstaining from/ unable to take part in the sport e.g., craving). Conclusion: There are multiple reasons why individuals participate in extreme sports despite their inherent danger. This review highlights how individuals differing perceptions of risk can impact motivations and therefore the complexity in this area. Potential links between themes and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

    Keywords: Extreme Sport1, motivation2, participation3, personality4, risk5. (Min.5-Max. 8)

    Received: 19 Mar 2024; Accepted: 26 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hornby, Roderique-Davies, Heirene, Thorkildsen, Bradbury, Rowlands, Goodison, Gill and Shearer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: David A. Shearer, University of South Wales, Treforest, United Kingdom

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