Bullying in sport as a power imbalance
| Autor: | Vytenis Atkočiūnas, Jolita Vveinhardt |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | litevština |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Regional formation and development studies 2021, Nr. 1 (33), p. 172-181. |
| ISSN: | 2029-9370 2351-6542 |
| Popis: | Patyčias profesionaliame sporte nagrinėjančioje mokslinėje literatūroje pastaraisiais metais nemažai dėmesio skiriama šio reiškinio poveikio sportininkų psichologinei savijautai, sporto rezultatams ir sporto karjerai diagnostikai. Kaip vienas esminių patyčių bruožų skiriamas konfliktiškuose tarpasmeniniuose santykiuose išryškėjantis galios disbalansas, dėl kurio aukos jaučiasi esančios silpnesniojo pozicijoje ir negalinčios pasipriešinti. Tačiau vis dar stinga tyrimų, kokiais galios disbalanso bruožais pasireiškia patyčios sporte. Todėl šio tyrimo tikslas – aptarti patyčių sporte, kaip galios disbalanso, bruožus. Apklausus 370 Lietuvos sportininkų, nustatyta, kad patyčias yra patyrę 111 asmenų, iš kurių 28,8 proc. jautėsi negalintys pasipriešinti, o 9,9 proc. ketino palikti savo komandą. Daugelis ketinusių palikti komandą sportininkų pabrėžė ne tik komandos narių, bet ir trenerių daromą spaudimą. Remiantis tyrimo rezultatais, skiriami esminiai sportininkų ir jų trenerių elgsenos bruožai, kaip sukuriamas galios disbalansas, siūlomos rekomendacijos ir pristatomi tyrimo apribojimai bei tolesnių tyrimų gairės. Šiame straipsnyje pristatoma tik dalis autorių studijos rezultatų. The growing concern over the impact of bullying on athletes’ emotional state and their health, and their decision to end their sports careers early, has stimulated interest in forms of bullying, and an investigation into the process of bullying in sport. Attention is drawn to the power imbalance, which shows in interactions between the bully and the victim, and should be treated as one of the most important factors characterising bullying, pushing one of the parties in the conflict into the position of the loser. Systematic and long-lasting bullying leads to a situation in which the victim is made to feel unable to defend himself/herself, while the imbalance of power between the parties in the conflict can be identified as an essential criterion that helps to distinguish bullying from aggressive behaviour. Research conducted in various contexts of social relationships shows that the pressure exerted by a group of colleagues distinguishes itself by informal agreement, seeking to exclude the victim from the social or professional environment, which is referred to as social ostracism, using various tactics to cause pain to the target person for the purpose. Bullying manifests itself in various areas of professional activity, and sport is no exception. However, not much research has been conducted analysing the power imbalance in professional sports activities, or else the phenomenon is only addressed indirectly. It is therefore not entirely clear what bullying actions upset the balance of power to the detriment of the victim, and what role different participants in bullying play. Greater clarity of the features highlighting the power imbalance is needed for several reasons. First, without knowing which actions in sport most undermine the victim’s resistance, it is more difficult to organise the prevention of bullying in professional sport. Second, this would make it possible to foresee trends to improve athletes’ social and emotional competence, in order to prevent the escalation of the conflict in its initial stages, and to propose measures to restore the balance of power. Therefore, the research problem is raised by the question: What features of bullying as a power imbalance show in sport? Object of the research: bullying in sport as a power imbalance. Purpose of the research: to identify features of bullying in sport as a power imbalance. Research methods. In order to distinguish the features of bullying in sport as a power imbalance, a theoretical study using structural analysis and synthesis methods was performed. The empirical study was conducted using the questionnaire survey method. A survey of 370 Lithuanian athletes showed that 111 people had experienced bullying, of whom 28.8 per cent had felt unable to resist it, and 9.9 per cent had intended to leave the team. Most athletes who planned to leave the team emphasised the pressure from team members and coaches. The results of this study allow us to draw several conclusions. First, judging from the reactions of the victims of bullying, the power of the participants in bullying varies, depending on whether the bullying takes place in a vertical or horizontal direction. In this case, the vertical power expressed by the coach’s status with regard to athletes limits their resistance actions; therefore, the abuse of power can be treated as posing a particular risk. Another important risk factor shows at a horizontal level, as the pressure exerted by the group. Second, unlike cases of bullying among children, there are no significant differences between direct and indirect bullying actions. The fact that all groups of investigated people (those feeling unable to resist, those who have resisted, and those intending to leave the team) responded to all six groups of bullying actions similarly suggests that, in the prevention of bullying, it would be inappropriate to single out some groups of actions as requiring greater or lesser attention. The results of our study can be useful for further discussion in looking for answers as to how the power of bullying manifests itself in different directions, and what its features are. They also enable the more targeted planning of bullying prevention practices in sport. This article presents only part of the results of the study conducted by the authors. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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