Citation

Sole AE, Emery CA, Hagel BE, Morrongiello BA. Clin. J. Sport. Med. 2010; 20(6): 445-451.

Affiliation

Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Pediatrics and Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181fc0a6d

PMID

21079440

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: To discover possible associations between the human factors and avalanche incidents. DESIGN:: Self-report, intercept, and Web-based, 1-year retrospective, cross-sectional study. SETTING:: Mountain Equipment Co-op stores in Calgary and Vancouver, Canada. PARTICIPANTS:: People shopping at the store and who had entered avalanche terrain in the past 12 months were invited to complete the survey (n = 447). INDEPENDENT VARIABLES:: Sex, age, sport activity, days of exposure, years of experience, socioeconomic status, level of training, risk propensity, and motivation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: Experiencing an avalanche incident. RESULTS:: Women and those traveling with women were less likely to experience an avalanche incident [odds ratio (OR) = 0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.21-0.96]. Those with the most training were more likely to report experiencing an avalanche incident (OR = 6.86; 95% CI, 2.37-19.83), but this difference was attenuated (OR = 2.25) and not statistically significant (95% CI, 0.57-8.81) after adjustment for exposure. Experience was not found to be a factor. Being motivated to seek intense experiences was found to be a factor (OR = 2.19; 95% CI, 1.03-4.66), whereas being motivated to create memorable experiences was protective (OR = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.10-0.86). CONCLUSIONS:: The results of this study suggest that people exposing themselves to avalanche risk do so to satisfy inherited and learned motivational needs and that some motivations are associated with higher or lower risk taking than others. Training appears to be exploited so as to increase access to these benefits rather than reduce risk. Within this risk/reward paradigm, risk taking among men is moderated by the presence of a woman in the group.

Language: en