Violence In Sport Research Articles

SPORTS PRACTICES AND VIOLENCE AMONG YOUNG MOROCCANS FROM DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASSES: A SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

The practice of sport is certainly characterised by a desire to go beyond ones abilities in order to achieve a good performance. Within this framework, we can often witness intense interactions that could easily tip over into different forms of violence. This sociological study is part of this context, and its aim is to focus on the impact of social representations on violence in sport. The aim of our research is, on the one hand, to identify the types of violence in relation to the properties of each sport and, on the other hand, to study the impact of the groups to which one belongs (socio-cultural aspect) on the construction of social representations in relation to the practice of competitive sport and, more specifically, violent behaviour. Three competitive sports were chosen: tennis, judo and football. social. The selected population consisted of 113 young amateur athletes, 15 parents and 06 coaches. We opted for a mixed approach to our research methodology, using both questionnaire and interview techniques. Analysis of the quantitative data showed that each sport was dominated by a particular social category. In football, 75% of participants belonged to a disadvantaged social class. Judo seems to attract young people from an average social category (62%), whereas in tennis 69% of participants belong to a privileged social class. The second observation concerns the distribution of the typology of violence, which seems to follow the logic of a socio-cultural distribution in terms of social class.

A meta-analysis on the relationship between media with violence and aggression in Iranian sports

The present research aimed to conduct a systematic study on violence and aggression in the context of Iranian sports and perform a meta-analysis to investigate the association between the media and violence and aggression in sports. The research encompassed all relevant studies available in scientific databases within Iran (such as Magiran, Seyed, Civilica, Normagz, Humane resource study, and police publications), as well as dissertations from the information and scientific documents database. The selected timeframe for this analysis covered the years 2001 to 2018 in the Iranian context. Through this process, 209 studies related to the subject were identified, out of which 10 studies were included in the meta-analysis based on the research protocol investigating the relationship between media and violence and aggression in sports. Data analysis was performed using SPSS25 and CMA2 software. The results showed several variables played prominent roles in the researches on violence and aggression in sports, including media performance, referees’ performance, stadium amenities, law enforcement and security factors, external and internal stadium environment, coach’s behavior, social control, family influence, education, socio-economic factors, substance abuse, players’ behavior, influence of friends, managerial aspects, and cultural and political factors. Inferential statistics indicated effect size for the relationship between media and violence and aggression, under the fixed model, was determined to be 0.259, and under the random model, it was 0.306, both of which were statistically significant. Consequently, based on the findings from the meta-analysis, a significant direct relationship between media and violence and aggression in sports was established.

Brothers, bruises, and the will to win: a social-ecological hegemony perspective on Swedish ice hockey’s past

The tradition of Swedish ice hockey as a masculine-dominated territory that encourages characteristics like roughness, aggressiveness, and to some extent violence has been hotly debated. Using historical articles from the Swedish Hockey magazine, and with a perspective combining hegemony with the social-ecological model of violence prevention, this study develops an interpretation of how masculinity traits and violence in Swedish ice hockey interconnect. The historical case provides findings for this interconnection, with meanings of masculinity and a competitive commitment as permeating threads. Triggered by individuals, but also connected to coaches’ encouragements, organizations’ endeavours, societal, and financial forces, the negotiations around playing styles and allowance levels have been permeated by ideals of masculinity; ideals that enforce the current hegemonic gender order. Ultimately, the article contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of sport violence as an issue that not only impacts or can be utilized by sport organizations and players/practitioners but also its broader societal implications.

Telling adults about it: children’s experience of disclosing interpersonal violence in community sport

A challenge in safeguarding children from interpersonal violence (IV) in sport is the reliance on self-disclosures and a limited understanding of the frequency, barriers to and process of disclosures of IV. Through a mixed-methods design, combining survey and interviews, we explored the frequencies of childhood disclosures of experiences of IV in Australian community sport as well as who children disclosed to and how the interaction unfolded. Those who experienced peer violence disclosed at the highest frequency (35%), followed by coach (27%) or parent (13%) perpetrated IV. A parent/carer was most often the adult that the child disclosed to. Interviews highlighted how the normalisation of violence influenced all aspects of the disclosure and elements of stress buffering (normalising or rationalising) particularly underpinned the disclosure interaction. Policies and practices should explicitly identify all forms of IV in sport as prohibited conduct; education and intervention initiatives should target parents as first responders to disclosures.

‘Male, violent and dangerous’: The gender prejudices in rugby from the perception of current and former athletes of the Brazil women's rugby 7's national team

Rugby is considered by many to be the antithesis of femininity because, since its creation, it has been a way for men to prove their masculinity. For this reason, the trajectory of women who practice it can be permeated with prejudices. The aim of this article is to advance the conceptual understanding of gender prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination, through an evaluation of the sports trajectory of cis women rugby players in Brazil. Ten female athletes, who are current or former athletes of the Brazil women's rugby 7's national team, were interviewed. They identified gender prejudice in relation to: (1) playing a sport considered masculine in which women should not take part; (2) being considered not to be able to practice it; (3) having bodies which do not fit the requirements of the ideal female body; (4) playing a violent sport; (5) trying to highlight attributes of femininity in publicity and press coverage. We conclude that, in the sport of rugby in Brazil, women are treated unfairly, with unequal salaries and limited opportunities. Moreover, they suffer prejudice and social pressure where they need to constantly reaffirm their sexuality, their femininity and their technical competence to play rugby.

Rectus femoris and vastus intermedius thickness measurement by ultrasound before and after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in athletes

BackgroundMost anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries which are common in violent sports require anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) to restore knee joint stabilization. Rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius (VI) weakness are among the notable changes after ACLR. This weakness can be hazardous to the patient as it could decrease functional activity and thus increases the chances of re-injury. The objectives of the current study were to measure the (RF) thickness, (VI) thickness and the total (RF + VI) thickness on (ACL) reconstructed limb and the non-reconstructed limb of athletes using ultrasound and to compare the results pre-operatively and 6–8 months post-operative.ResultsThe reconstructed limb showed a significant decrease in (RF), (VI) and the total thickness in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd measurements compared to that of non- reconstructed limb post-operatively. In both limbs, the decrease of (VI) thickness was significantly higher than (RF) thickness in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd measurements (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively).ConclusionsUltrasound can be used to assess quadriceps atrophy (including the individual muscles) found after ACLR. Ultrasound is an affordable and easily available modality as compared to MRI and CT scans for the assessment of RF and VI muscle weakness in athletes with ACLR during the rehabilitation period and can guide selective rehabilitation protocols if wasting is identified early.

A Study on Negative Human Rights-Related Experiences of Female College Student Athletes in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to describe negative experiences related to human rights among female college student athletes in South Korea. For this purpose, qualitative research methods were used in this study. A total of 10 female college athletes participated in in-depth interviews, and the interview was conducted from March 1 to September 1, 2021. The main research results are as follows. First of all, most female college athletes who participated in the interview revealed that they had experienced physical or psychological harassment and abuse since elementary school. Second, female college student athletes experienced pressure with respect to their freedom and self-determination. It was found that life as an athlete is controlled by way of limiting the athletes’ right to self-determination including restriction on appearance, being excluded from various college activities and restrictions on socializing due to curfews. Third, participants demonstrated that the perpetrators were senior athletes and coach. Therefore, the study indicated that it is a fact of life at college level that female college athletes have experienced physical and verbal violence in sport. As such, human rights education and policies are needed to promote the human rights of female college students.

What is the Essential Problem of Professional Sports Violence in Korea?

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore violence in the Korean sports world and examine the reality of sports violence in the past and present by reflecting the voices of the field and academia through an in-depth analysis.METHODS First, through a systematic literature analysis, the essential problems of sports violence that have been discussed in academia were explored. Next, based on this, perception was explored by applying a multi-case study method to an in-depth analysis of the opinions of experts in academia and the field. Finally, by deriving the research results and discussing them, implications for this study were provided.RESULTS First, the essential problem of sports ethics was the change in sports ethics perception that was different from the sports ethics problem caused by the diversification of victoryism. Second, the essential problems of sports violence were ethics and sports ethics in society with different standards, and the unaltered perception and culture of sports ethics. Third, the problems and causes of sports violence were institutional changes and practical limitations of physical violence, control of the possibility of violence, insensitive verbal violence, cyber violence as a new form violence due to changes in the times, and rationalizations of bystanders.CONCLUSIONS This study is expected to serve as a catalyst for the field and academia by exploring the phenomenon of sports violence in more depth through the problems of violence by type and its causes according to the changing times.

Theorising Gender-Based Violence Policies: A 7P Framework

This paper presents and critically interrogates a comprehensive 7Ps framework for analysing and addressing gender-based violence. It takes the UN and the Council of Europe’s models as points of departure and develops the framework beyond the current state of the art, explains its different components, and offers reflections on its use in the practice of gender-based violence research. The UN 3P model, encompassing prevention, protection, and prosecution, later developed by the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention into a 4P model, comprising prevention, protection, prosecution, and integrated policies, has since been revisited, elaborated upon, and expanded in work focusing on gender-based violence in particular domains, such as female genital mutilation or gender-based violence in sport. To study gender-based violence in academia, the comprehensive 7Ps analytical framework has been deployed to interrogate the policies in place at national and institutional levels, including sexual harassment. Based on empirical data and conceptual analysis in the EU project UniSAFE: Gender-based violence and institutional responses: Building a knowledge base and operational tools to make universities and research organisations safe (2021–2024), the paper argues that the refined 7Ps model, comprising Prevalence, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution of offenders (and disciplinary measures), Provision of services, Partnerships between actors, and Policies specifically addressing the issue, allows for a more encompassing approach, in turn allowing a more fine-grained understanding of variations and explanations for success (or lack thereof) in terms of outcomes.

Empowerment stärkendes sowie schwächendes Klima und Erfahrungen psychischer Gewalt im Gerätturnen

AbstractIn light of the continuing debate about coach-perpetrated violence and the maltreatment of athletes in the elite sports context, empowering and ethical approaches to coaching need to be investigated and proposed as evidence-based effective alternatives. This study aims to investigate the associations between motivational coaching climates and athletes’ experiences of psychological violence, as well as their effects on well-being. Using an anonymous cross-sectional online survey, artistic gymnasts’ perceptions of empowering and disempowering coach-created motivational climates, experiences of psychological violence in sport, well-being, and depressive symptoms were recorded quantitatively. Results indicate that a more disempowering climate predicts psychological violence, while an empowering climate was not a significant predictor. Regarding mental health outcomes, an effect of psychological violence on depressive symptoms and well-being was found, but no effect was found for the disempowering climate. Explorative analysis suggested that psychological violence mediates the relationship between disempowering coaching and mental health outcomes. Based on these findings, coach education should focus on prevention of psychological violence and minimization of disempowering climates. Further research should investigate the relations and effects of psychological violence and coaching climates more thoroughly, including the role of an empowering climate as a potential beneficiary alternative coaching method.

Child Maltreatment and Links with Experiences of Interpersonal Violence in Sport in a Sample of Canadian Adolescents

Purpose: This study aimed to explore links between child maltreatment (CM) and experiences of interpersonal violence (IV) in sport among adolescent sport participants. To our knowledge, no studies have yet considered this association. This is surprising given that the literature outside of sport clearly shows that CM is related to revictimization in adolescence and adulthood. Methods: The sample consists of 983 adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old participating in an organized sport. They completed a self-report survey in class at six Canadian schools assessing CM and IV in sport. Logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between CM and IV in sport. Results: Child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and exposure to domestic violence were significantly associated with psychological violence and neglect in sport. Exposure to domestic violence was the only form of CM significantly associated with physical violence in sport. Child sexual abuse and neglect were significantly associated with sexual violence in sport, while child emotional abuse and exposure to domestic violence were significantly associated with peer violence in sport. Physical abuse was the only form of CM significantly associated with coach violence. Child physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence were positively associated with violence from parents in sport. Conclusions: Considering the associations between CM and IV in sport, further investigations are necessary on how to prevent revictimization. It also highlights the importance of athlete-centered and trauma-informed practices in sport. Implications and Contribution: This study was the first, to our knowledge, to show the relationship between CM and the experience of IV in organized sport, as reported by 983 Canadian adolescents. Our findings reveal different associations depending on the type of IV (physical, sexual, psychological, or neglect) and the perpetrators (peers, coaches, or parents).

Gender-Based Violence in Girls’ Sports

Millions of girls and young women participate in organized sports annually as a vehicle for developing a strong sense of self, social bonds, a positive body image and a sense of agency. Although the benefits of sport engagement are experienced by many girls, the overwhelming evidence of experiences of gender-based violence in sport cannot be ignored (e.g., USA Gymnastics, Hockey Canada). This paper will address gender-based violence experienced by adolescents in sport with a focus on psychological violence. The literature is replete with evidence that girls experience higher rates of gender-based psychological violence in sport than boys, and as a result, incur developmental costs. Psychological violence is experienced by girls in sport in the form of demeaning comments, body shaming, inequitable media coverage and funding and the ongoing policing of women’s bodies in sport through sexualized sport attire and physiological testing. The causes and effects of psychological violence will be addressed along with recommendations to prevent and address gender-based violence in sport.

Short- and Long-Term Effects of an Intervention to Act against Sexual Violence in Sports

In recent years, an increasing number of cases of sexual violence (SV) in organized sports have received worldwide attention. To counteract the emergence of SV, various preventive measures have been developed and implemented. However, the effectiveness of these preventive measures has not been adequately tested. To close this gap, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop intervention that was conducted within the context of organized sports in Germany. The one-day workshop intervention was conducted with 137 stakeholders in organized sports (coaches, athletes, board members, and parents). The intervention was evaluated by measuring the short-term (immediately before and after the workshop) and long-term effects (six months after the workshop). The analyses showed positive short-term (such as on attitudes toward SV and the intention to act against SV) and positive long-term effects (on knowledge about SV and a culture of prevention in the sports club and club behavior) of the workshop. The workshop was effective in the short term and the long term regarding the most relevant indicators (i.e., taking measures against SV). Therefore, it can be concluded that more workshops should be held in clubs in order to sensitize stakeholders and foster measures against SV in sports.

Safeguarding in sport and policy advocacy: the role of the council of Europe

ABSTRACT Violence and maltreatment in sport threaten athlete rights and undermine sport’s potential contribution to positive social development. This problem remains prevalent in organised sport and limits sport’s potential social contribution. In response, numerous European and international actors have pursued activities to address this serious issue. In particular, for more than two decades, the Council of Europe (CoE) has played an active role in promoting and supporting safeguarding policy in sport. However, though extensive time and resources have been invested in these actions, their extent and impact remain unclear. Therefore, using the Council of Europe’s Start to Talk initiative as a case, we aim to analyse the inputs, activities, and policy outcomes of their work around safeguarding policy in sport. In turn, this will allow us to identify successes, challenges and future directions for European policy activities. We rely on document analysis and more than 20 semi-structured qualitative interviews with national and international experts to generate our results. Based on this, we find that the CoE has helped politically legitimise action on this topic and has helped generate engagement with policymakers and the public. However, a broader lack of policy monitoring, especially at the systems and target population levels, restricts further progress and development.

In Hoc Signo Vinces—an Exploratory Study on the Impact of Religion on Violence in Sport

Does religion continue to spur violence even in contemporary times? This work aims to shed some light on the relationship between belonging to a given religion and violent behavior. Whereas religions often preach love and caring for others (meaning that among believers, a decrease in the level of violence may be registered), at the same time, it could be argued that a religious sense of belonging shapes self-identity and that in challenging situations this increases violence, especially towards foreigners. To test this hypothesis, we gathered data about yellow and red cards from the FIFA World Cup, obtaining a dataset of quasi-experimental data on violence, which we integrated with the Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project. Via a quantitative analysis that employs different estimators, our results show that the more Christians there are in a country, the more violent its national team will be, whereas the more Buddhists there are, the less violent the team will be. No significant relationship is found with regard to Jews or Muslims. Finally, when investigating Christian confessions, Eastern Christians appear to show the most violent behavior.

Spirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture by Sean Samuel O’Neil

Reviewed by: Spirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture by Sean Samuel O’Neil Dr. Nick J. Watson Sean Samuel O’Neil, Spirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture (Sport and Popular Culture Series, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville), 2022. During the last two decades there has been a marked increase in publications, events and practical initiatives surrounding sports and the Christian faith. Within this corpus of work there has been limited explorations of the theology of disability sport, in particular, scholarship that specifically addresses bodily fragility and vulnerability. Therefore, Sean O’Neil’s book is a welcome and timely contribution to the literature, especially because of its rich and provocative content rooted in popular culture, which makes it ideal for classroom discussion and study—the author himself teaches a sport and religion class from which some of the book’s content emerged. This book’s content is provocative (in a good way). The book comprises six thematic chapters, a conclusion and afterword. Chapter titles such as, Eunuchs and Suicidal Athletes: Co-Creating Meaning in Times of Despair (Ch. 2), Pilgrimage, Prozac, and Pentecostals: Synchronicity on God’s Path (Ch. 3) and Cowboys and Soul Surfers: Gender, Disability, and Nature from Bethany Hamilton to The Rider (Ch. 6), reflect the provocative, challenging and engaging content of the text. An auto-ethno-graphic approach is adopted by the author—a hospital chaplain, bishop and pastor—who carefully weaves parts of his own life story into the book’s narrative. One methodological reason to deploy an auto-ethno-graphic approach in scholarly writing or empirical research, is that the author/researcher has an in-depth and experiential understanding of some, or all, of the subject matter. The following excerpt from the Preface, which was written by the author, demonstrates how the use of autoethnography organically emerged during the book project: When I began this project, I did not plan to use personal details. I did not anticipate that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a personal antagonist that I thought had weakened over the years would revive [End Page 67] with such overwhelming force in my life. My mental health struggles became so acute when I worked as a hospital chaplain during the pandemic that I wondered tearfully at times whether my wife would ultimately end up completing this book in my post-humous absence. . . . Something happened, though, even before that grueling emotional stretch, that made me determined to include aspects of my personal life in this book. As is the case for so many of the meaningful events I describe in this book, the turning point was the result of a coincidence [at] a Christian writer’s conference. (p. xiii) Vulnerability, coincidence (some would say God-incidence), God’s providence and what the psychoanalyst Carl Jung called synchronicity, are frequent themes in the book, both in the description of the author’s life and of those athletes whose stories of bodily vulnerability and fragility are included within the narrative—Bethany Hamilton, Oscar Pistorius and Steve Gleason, for instance. Other strong themes in the book are the secular-sacred dyad, depression and anxiety, race, pilgrimage, brain trauma from participation in violent sports, intersectionality, platform ministry-evangelism, embodiment, human limitations and the American dream (and the myth of individual opportunity), the Great Sports Myth (the widespread belief that sports are always intrinsically good) and the use of fictional accounts of the sport-religion relationship, for example, A Prayer for Owen Meaney. And so, this book is truly interdisciplinary, broad in its scope and in some ways polemic in that it provides a critique of the dominant big-business American sports model and ableist attitudes in wider US culture. Given the diversity of themes presented in the book it is challenging to know which to highlight and discuss in a brief review essay, so to best represent the book’s overall content and merits (and limitations). Arguably, chapter four—The Perils of Black Athletic Success: What ‘Get Out’ Gets Right about Inspiration Porn—is an important one, if one measures importance by the number of people across America that its content may impinge upon. The...

Investigating the Nexus of Paralympic Bodies With Medicine

Medical discourse regarding impairment and (dis)ability dominate assumptions of Paralympic sport. This research examined the lived experience of the first author, a sport physiotherapist and veteran of many Paralympic Games, to consider the experience of sport medicine with Para sport athletes. Self-ethnography and a theoretical lens informed by a human rights approach to disability were used. Structural violence was utilized to explore the social structure of medical professions and the impact on Paralympic sport. Data involved a retrospective journal of the first author. Thematic analysis was conducted and these themes are presented; social potential of sport medicine, medical authority, aversive ableism. The research draws attention to structural violence in Paralympic sport and the potential of sport medicine to be an agent of change.

Prevention of sexual violence in sports boarding schools: a survey from Germany

Numerous sexual violence cases have been reported in boarding schools as well as in sports organizations. However, no studies have been conducted so far that investigate the prevention of sexual violence in sports boarding schools. Our study explores to what extent sports boarding schools in Germany register sexual violence as a relevant problem in their organizations and which prevention measures they apply. Based on a theoretical framework of organizational development, the organizational structures, the organizational cultures and the grades of change toward the prevention of sexual violence were analyzed. To this end, a survey with representatives from all 59 sports boarding schools in Germany was conducted. The results reveal various aspects that can be improved regarding organizational development and specific prevention measures. Among other results, a regression analysis shows the importance to structurally anchor the topic in the organization, to develop an actively campaigning culture, to establish an internal self-obligation, and to conduct a theme-specific evaluation to ensure better protection of all athletes in sports boarding schools.

Profiles of Teenage Athletes' Exposure to Violence in Sport: An Analysis of Their Sport Practice, Athletic Behaviors, and Mental Health.

Violence in sport is a major social issue generating great interest in research over the last 10 years. Studies to date highlight various forms and manifestations of violence in the lives of teenagers practicing individual or team sports, in competitive and recreational contexts. Although allegations of sexual violence involving coaches most often reach media attention, psychological and physical violence involving teammates, parents, and coaches are also prevalent. While profiles of offenders in the sport context have contributed to a better understanding of the issue, similar profiles need to be elaborated for young victims to delineate varying degrees of risk, adaptation, and needs. Latent class analyses were conducted to empirically identify different patterns of exposure to violence in sport from a sample of 1057 athletes aged 14-17 years. Teenagers participated in an online survey assessing their experiences of violence using the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire. Results highlighted three different profiles of victimization in the sport context: (a) a non-victimized profile constituting only 37% of the sample; (b) a profile representing 52% of the sample that is mainly exposed to psychological violence by teammates, coaches, and parents; and (c) a "poly-victimized" profile, representing 10% of the sample, that is exposed to all forms of violence at the hands of various perpetrators (teammates, coaches, and parents). The identified profiles were compared according to different indicators of sport practice, athletic behaviors, and mental health. This study delineates the influence of single and multiple forms of violence and its compound consequences on mental health and sport-related behaviors, thus portraying various degrees of need for tailored prevention and intervention measures.

Mental health impacts of interpersonal violence in sports

Mental health impacts of interpersonal violence in sports