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.
Bullying is a social problem that has been studied most in schools but affects other social contexts. However, there is a general lack of studies on bullying in sports. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bullying among youth soccer players. Participants were 1,980 soccer players (88.2% boys) aged 8 to 13 years (Mage = 10.5, SD = 1.68) from 25 clubs in Catalonia, Spain. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered to analyze the prevalence and characteristics of bullying from the perspective of victims, bullies, and bystanders. The overall bullying victimization rate was 8.9%, with higher rates observed in the younger categories (p < .001); 5.2% of victims experienced bullying in both their soccer club and at school. The bullying and bystander rates were 14.8% and 34.7%, respectively, with significant differences between boys and girls (15.5% of boys and 9% of girls were bullies [p < .05], while 36.4% of boys and 21.9% of girls were bystanders [p < .001]). Verbal bullying was the main type of bullying reported. The locker room and pitch were the most common locations, and victims were more likely to deal with bullying on their own than to ask for help. Bullying is present in grassroots soccer, and anti-bullying programs are needed to instill ethical and moral values in athletes and equip coaches with the necessary skills to prevent, detect, and address bullying situations.
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