Abstract
Maltreatment in sport, a pervasive issue across all levels of competition, can have severe negative impacts on athlete well-being. Despite growing amounts of research on maltreatment, the literature remains fragmented. Inconsistencies in how athlete maltreatment is defined and operationalised have resulted in a lack of conceptual clarity that limits current research, practice, and monitoring within and across sport sectors. A comprehensive synthesis of current evidence is needed to identify gaps, inform policy, and guide future research.
A six-stage scoping review identified relevant literature across six electronic databases. Eligible sources, including peer-reviewed research and dissertations, addressed the concept of maltreatment within sport among athletes across various age groups, sport types, and competition levels. The extracted data were analysed using qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics, which were further expanded upon through community advisory group consultations with athletes, coaches, researchers, and policymakers.
Included studies were predominantly qualitative and captured many types of maltreatment in sport, including sexual abuse, harassment, and bullying. Explicit definitions and conceptual frameworks of maltreatment were often missing. Commonly used measures failed to capture the experiential complexities described in qualitative work, highlighting the need to develop more comprehensive measures of athlete maltreatment. Notably, there has been a substantial shift in the foci of athlete maltreatment research over three decades; early work primarily examined indices of risk or abuse, while emerging evidence emphasised systemic forms of discrimination as well as prevention and safeguarding initiatives. Collaborative and intersectional approaches that prioritise athletes’ lived experiences are needed to advance research and practice.
