‘There was something that wasn’t right because that was the only place I ever got treated like that’: Children and young people’s experiences of emotional harm in sport

Abstract

The article reports findings from a study of negative and harmful experiences of children participating in organised sport in the UK focusing in particular on emotional harm. A convenience sample of 6124 young people (age 18–22) completed an online survey about their experiences of sport as children (up to age 16); 89 follow-up telephone interviews were conducted. The article provides information about the emotional harm of children in sport and the context within which it occurs. It provides some evidence of a sporting culture where emotional harm is widespread at all levels of sport and commonly experienced by children of all ages.