A review of emotional and sexual abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches

ABSTRACT

Emotional abuse and sexual abuse are often co-occurring forms of child maltreatment that can have numerous negative effects on development. This narrative review synthesises research on emotional and sexual abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches to examine the dynamics and consequences of abuse in the elite sport context and to investigate characteristics of this context – in which the coach-athlete relationship is central – that make these athletes especially vulnerable to abuse. This paper contributes to the literature through using a developmental perspective to identify these characteristics, which are the intensity and one-dimensionality of child athletes’ experiences at the elite level. These characteristics are dangerous because they lead to the normalisation of the abuse and isolation of the still-developing athlete. Critical issues related to both emotional and sexual abuse of elite child athletes are also discussed, including internalisation and rationalisation of the abuse, disruption of identity, and dynamics surrounding disclosure.

KEYWORDS:

• Elite child athletes
• emotional abuse
• sexual abuse
• coach-athlete relationship

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ivy Ho and Stephanie Block for their work in the early stages of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Participants were aged 19–35 and thus not children, but their experiences of emotional abuse in the elite sport context reflects child athletes’ experiences in many ways, and therefore their coping, especially when younger, can offer insight into how child athletes may handle emotional abuse.