Abstract
Bullying is a global issue that, beyond school, is present in different social contexts, such as sport environments. The main objective of this study was to get to know the experiences of victims of bullying in sport throughout their youth sport training. Semi-structured interviews to four Spanish women and seven Spanish men were carried out, within an age range of 17–27 (Mage = 21 years, SD = 3.69). The following main themes were established by means of a hierarchical content analysis: (a) “bullying characterization,” (b) “dealing with bullying,” and (c) “consequences of bullying.” The results show the presence of physical, verbal and social bullying in the sport context, with the changing room being the space where this type of behavior is most frequently developed. Most victims show an internal attribution (self-blame) for the bullying event, related to their motor skills and their personal physical and psychological characteristics. Double victimization can be observed, at the sport club and at the educational center. Passive strategies are used to deal with the situation, while little support is shown by sport agents (teammates and coaches). The victims, as a consequence of the bullying experience, suffer from short and long-term negative effects on a psychosocial level. The study highlights the necessity to design and implement programs focused on the prevention, detection and intervention of bullying for sport organizations, bearing in mind all the agents that make them up (coaches, management teams, families, and players). Furthermore, the importance of promoting the creation of safe sport environments, free from any kind of violence, is emphasized.
Highlights
The International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) mentions sport practice as one of the best “investments” to promote the practice of physical activity among citizens (Milton et al, 2021)
Differences are observed between countries around the world (Tremblay et al, 2016), in Europe approximately two out of three children and adolescents perform some type of sport practice at sport clubs (Kokko et al, 2019)
Given the absence of research analyzing the phenomenon of bullying in sport in depth from the perspective of the victims themselves during childhood and/or adolescence, the purpose of this research was to determine retrospectively the experiences of bullying among athletes who had been victimized during their youth sport training
Summary
The International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) mentions sport practice as one of the best “investments” to promote the practice of physical activity among citizens (Milton et al, 2021). Studies show that the sport context becomes an adequate space to promote a correct physical, psychological and social development among. Experiences of Bullying in Sport its participants (Banjac et al, 2020). Sport practice during childhood will predict optimal physical activity habits during adulthood and an improvement in their cardio-metabolic state (Murphy et al, 2016; Logan et al, 2020). It is customary to relate it to the development of a series of “positive” behaviors and values, sport practice it is not, per se, good or bad (Banjac et al, 2020). While prosocial behaviors may occur, it might enable the emergence of an environment in which negative behaviors can be normalized and the appearance of situations such as bullying can be favored (Logan et al, 2020; Milovanovicet al., 2020)
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