The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the process by which emotional abuse occurs and is often sustained in sport, and to examine athletes’, parents’, and coaches’ reflections on emotional abuse in the coach-athlete relationship. The methodological approach used for the study was a constructivist and symbolic interactionist approach to grounded theory. Methods were established that were consistent with the iterative nature of grounded theory. In total, 18 retired elite athletes, 16 parents of retired elite athletes, and nine elite coaches participated in the study. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and data were coded using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Athlete data were interpreted to suggest a sequence of stages by which emotionally abusive coach-athlete relations developed and were sustained over time. Furthermore, the perceived impact of emotionally abusive coaching practices on motivation, self-confidence, commitment, and achievement outcomes in sport were discussed. Parent data were interpreted to suggest that parents are socialized into the culture of elite sport and can become silent bystanders to their children’s experiences of emotional abuse. Coaches’ reflections about the reasons for choosing to use emotionally abusive behaviours in the coach-athlete relationship were interpreted to suggest two distinct origins for the use of this behaviour. Additionally, perceived reasons for abandoning emotionally abusive coaching techniques were reported by the coaches. Finally, based on the collective reflections of the athletes, parents, and coaches, an ecological transactional model of vulnerability to emotional abuse in the coach-athlete relationship is proposed. Several implications of the study findings are discussed and questions are posed for future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/35742 |
| Date | 25 July 2013 |
| Creators | Stirling, Ashley Elisa |
| Contributors | Kerr, Gretchen |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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