Practitioners of risky sports: A quantitative examination

The consumption of risky sports continues to grow. Risky sports include activities such as skydiving, deep-sea diving, and parachuting that entail a high level of physical risk. To date, most studies of risky sports have tended to be more qualitative than quantitative and were based on participant observation. The research described here builds on earlier research by integrating the frameworks within which risky sports' consumption have been documented-drama, danger neutralization and peer identification, and extraordinary experiences-into an empirically testable model. The model is tested on the basis of responses from 72 individuals, who have been active in sports such as deep-sea diving, parachuting, and rock or mountain climbing. Substantial empirical support is found for the integrated, drama- and extraordinary-based frames of reference. The findings are used to generate managerial implications, a topic mostly neglected in previous research. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.