New research says footballers are often seedier than criminals
By Rodney Chester
May 09, 2009 12:01am
RESEARCH shows footy stars are more likely to have alcohol problems, be more verbally aggressive and more sexually promiscuous than criminals.
The study comes out as rugby league has been rocked by another scandal involving high-profile players caught out in group sex,
The Courier-Mail reports.
Channel 9
Footy Show star Matthew Johns has apologised on TV to his family after the re-emergence of claims he was involved in group sex with a 19-year-old woman in a Christchurch hotel in 2002.
The study, published in the Australian Psychological Society's journal InPsych, subjected nearly 50 AFL footballers to personality tests and compared the results to similar tests conducted on 940 convicted criminals.
The study found footballers scored significantly higher than both the social average and the offenders in measures of alcohol problems, anxiety, verbal aggression, sexual promiscuity and anti-social behaviour.
"The data suggested that AFL footballers were most likely to offend in the context of alcohol usage, through offences such as drunk and disorderly, drink driving, or violent or reckless behaviour," the study authors reported.
"The relatively high sexual promiscuity scores suggested AFL footballers may potentially place themselves at greater risk for sex-related offences and vulnerability to scandal."