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Sports Psychology

Exploring Former Collegiate Women Athletes' Experiences of Emotional Abuse in the Coach-Athlete Relationship

(PS8-D98) Exploring Former Collegiate Women Athletes' Experiences of Emotional Abuse in the Coach-athlete Relationship

Saturday, November 18, 2023
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7



Historically, sport has been regarded as inherently good and beneficial in a variety of individual and societal domains; however, more recent research has begun to challenge this idea by examining one pervasive, negative practice within sport, emotionally abusive coaching practices. Emotionally abusive coaching practices are associated with a host of negative psychological, emotional, physical, social, educational, and sporting outcomes, with some lasting years after the athlete has left the competitive sporting role. Much of the literature examining the emotional abuse of athletes has focused on elite child athletes in Canada and the United Kingdom, with little to no research conducted in the United States (US) or on elite adult athletes. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively examine women athletes’ perceptions of emotional abuse from a coach who is a man, the impact of emotional abuse on mental well-being and athletic performance, and the potential implications of power on athletes’ perspectives and ability to report the abuse within collegiate sport in the United States. This study also aimed to examine the post-traumatic growth experiences, or lack thereof, in the years following the participants’ exits from collegiate sport. Due to the relatively new and exploratory nature of this study, a qualitative approach was taken with a symbolic interactionist approach to grounded theory. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 former collegiate women athletes with 1-5 years distance from the competitive sporting role. Data was analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding techniques with adherence to the constant comparative method to ensure theoretical saturation. An additional coder was employed to ensure inter-coder reliability in data analysis. Three themes were identified in alignment with the research questions; the first being the impact on athletes during and after their athletic careers, the second being the ways that athletes made sense of their experiences, and the third being the post-traumatic growth experiences reported. Findings demonstrated that emotionally abusive coaching practices are associated with a variety of negative short- and long-term outcomes for former collegiate women athletes in the United States. Moreover, the perceived power held by the coach impacted the ways that athletes made sense of their experiences. Finally, post-traumatic growth experiences were observed in all athletes studied. This study highlights the detrimental impact of emotionally abusive coaching practices on athletes and reinforces the need for athlete protection mechanisms in collegiate sport in the United States.