Would You Let Your Child Play Football? Attitudes Toward Football Safety

An estimated 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur each year in the United States, and many are related to football. This has generated much discussion in the media on the perceived safety of the sport. In the current study, researchers asked 230 individuals various questions about attitudes toward safety in football. Approximately 92.6% of participants indicated they would allow their child to play football; these participants were more likely to be female ((2)=5.23, p>.05), were slightly younger (t=-2.52, p<.05), and believed an athlete could suffer a higher number of concussions before becoming excessive (t=2.06, p<.05). Findings suggest most individuals are comfortable with their children playing football, and future studies are needed to clarify factors that inform this opinion.