When good coaches exert harmful behaviours: Understanding the use of emotionally abusive coaching practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore coaches' reflections on emotional abuse in the coach-athlete relationship. A constructivist and symbolic interactionist approach to grounded theory was employed. Participants included nine elite coaches, seven male and two female. Coaches ranged in age from 38-68 years of age (M=52 ± 11.12), with 18-47 years of coaching experience (M=28.22 ± 9.92). In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and data were coded using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. The following themes emerged from the raw data; coaches' care for the athletes, the nature of the coach-athlete relationship, previous use of harmful coaching behaviours, past normalization/justification of harmful coaching practices, and perceived reasons for change in coaching behaviour. Coaches' reflections about the reasons for choosing to use emotionally abusive behaviours in the coach-athlete relationship are interpreted to suggest two distinct origins of emotional abuse. Additionally, themes of data on the coaches' perceived reasons for change in coaching behaviour are categorized within the framework of social learning theory. Applied and theoretical recommendations are discussed.

Acknowledgments: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Sport Canada