Football hooliganism: Comparing self-awareness and social identity theory explanations

The emergence of research interest in group violence in general and football hooliganism in particular has been explained by various models generally relying on situational or individual differences accounts. Yet, these two research traditions have largely evolved independently, showing little or no interaction. In the present study (N = 109), we integrate measures of these two approaches and the results reveal that social identity was more predictive of self-reported physical aggression than of loss of private and public self-awareness. Moreover, attitudes towards violence were the most marked predictor variables of both physical and verbal aggression. In the discussion, the moderator effect of social identity and attitudes about violence on physical aggression is elaborated upon. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.