The moderating effect of combat sports discipline on the relationship between emotion regulation and aggression among athletes practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling, and mixed martial arts.

BACKGROUND

Findings on aggression in martial arts and combat sports are mixed, and relatively little is known about whether associations between emotion regulation strategies and aggression differ across combat sport disciplines. The present study examined whether discipline moderated the relationships of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression with aggression among athletes practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), karate, wrestling, and mixed martial arts (MMA).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional paper-and-pencil study, 277 athletes aged 16-57 years (M = 28.81, SD = 10.12) completed the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Because the verbal aggression subscale showed poor reliability (α = 0.53), it was excluded from the moderation analyses. Moderation models were estimated for total aggression, physical aggression, anger, and hostility, with discipline as the moderator and age, sex, sport experience, and competition level entered as covariates.

RESULTS

Most aggression dimensions were not significantly associated with emotion regulation strategies. In the adjusted moderation models, discipline did not significantly moderate the associations of cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression with total aggression, physical aggression, or anger. However, discipline significantly moderated the association between cognitive reappraisal and hostility. A positive association was observed in wrestling and MMA, but not in BJJ or karate. Expressive suppression was positively associated with hostility, independent of discipline.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between emotion regulation and aggression in combat sports is nuanced. Most associations between emotion regulation strategies and aggression were small or non-significant, and the only moderated association concerned cognitive reappraisal and hostility. Rather than viewing aggression as uniformly negative, the observed associations may tentatively be interpreted as reflecting functional, discipline-specific forms of aggression; the present data, however, do not directly measure tactical aggression, sport performance, competitive outcomes, or aggressive behavior. These cross-sectional findings highlight the need for sport-specific psychological support and longitudinal research to understand how different styles shape emotional management.