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Nearly 1 in 5 US College Athletes Reports Abusive Supervision by Their Coaches

The AHA! Team — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 05:39:51 +0000

BMJ Group via EurekAlert! – Athletes with disabilities and those in team sports most at risk, survey reveals. Nearly 1 in 5 college athletes reports some form of abusive supervision —defined as sustained hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviours—by their coaches, reveals an analysis of survey responses, involving National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes, and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. While there is no evidence of vulnerability according to race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender, athletes with disabilities and those participating in team sports seem to be most at risk, the findings indicate. Athletes view their coaches as role models, which makes their interactions susceptible to supervised abuse, say the researchers. “While transformational leadership can inspire players and impart valuable life lessons that positively impact athletes’ play and contribute to their development, an unethical leader can severely negatively affect an athlete’s mental health, quality of life, and wellbeing in adulthood,” they point out. Given that most coaches identify as White, male, cisgender, able-bodied and straight, the researchers wanted to find out if race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability, were distinguishing features of abusive coach supervision. They drew on data from the 2021–22 myPlaybook survey administered by the University of North Carolina Greensboro Institute to Promote Athlete Health & Wellness in collaboration with Stanford University’s Sports Equity Lab. The dataset included 4337 NCAA athletes from 123 universities across the USA. The validated Tepper 2000 questionnaire was adapted to ask respondents whether they had experienced certain abusive coaching behaviours, with each answer ranging from 1 to 5, representing frequency. Four additional questionnaires probed athlete autonomy, team culture, perceived coach leadership skills and care for their athlete’s wellbeing. In all, 3317 respondents provided complete data on abusive supervision and 1926 (58%) provided complete data on this plus the areas covered by the other 4 questionnaires. Most respondents (89%; 2959) were aged between 18 and 21, and male respondents made up 57% (1891) of the total. Sexual orientation was reported as predominantly straight (3125). And as only 19 identifed themselves as non-binary, transgender, or ‘other’, their number was too small to be statistically meaningful, and they were excluded from the analysis. Some 81% (2689) of respondents were involved in non-lean sports—where leanness is not considered a competitive advantage—and about 75% (2480) participated in team sports. Around three quarters of participants shared the same gender as their coach: 1844 male–male pairs; 660 female–female pairs. Of the total number of respondents, 2699 reported no abusive supervision, but 618 (nearly 19%) said they had experienced it. There was no significant age difference between those who reported abuse and those who didn’t. And gender identity analysis revealed that while women were slightly more likely to report abuse, this wasn’t statistically significant. Race/ethnicity data indicated that nearly two thirds (2162) of participants were White, but there was no significant difference between the different racial groups in terms of reporting abuse. After accounting for potentially influential factors, significant differences were noted in the type of sport played as team sports participants were 10% more likely to report abusive supervision than their peers who participated in individual sports. And non-lean sports participants reported more abusive supervision than those participating in lean sports, although this didn’t reach statistical significance. The prevalence of disability was just under 3% (88), and after accounting for potentially influential factors, those reporting a disability were 17% more likely to say they had experienced abusive supervision than their able-bodied peers. Coach behaviours indicative of concern for the athlete’s wellbeing were associated with a lower risk of abusive supervision reports. Coaches who reacted harshly and who focused predominantly on team success/outcomes were deemed more abusive, with a 24%-47% heightened risk of an abusive supervision report. On the other hand, those who were attentive to, and respectful of, their athletes’ needs and efforts; who were demonstrably accountable; and who regularly communicated respectfully with their athletes were deemed more supportive. Their risk of being reported as abusive was around 35% lower. The researchers acknowledge that the survey responses reflect just one point in time, and would not have captured those who discontinued their sporting careers because of the abuse they endured. And the findings might not be applicable to other age groups, sports organisations, or athletes worldwide, they add. But they nevertheless comment: “Overall, these findings are concerning as we know from prior research the role abusive coaching plays in psychological, training, performance and academic outcomes in comparison with coaches who use a more athlete-centred and humanistic approach.” They continue: “Promoting positive coaching strategies that prioritise athlete wellbeing, motivation and teamwork is essential to protecting collegiate athletes and facilitating their development. “Therefore, NCAA member institutions should consider a nationwide policy that mandates the implementation of a standardised educational programme and training created by the NCAA e-learning team for coaches to recognise and address abusive supervision behaviours while recognising and amplifying supportive supervision behaviours.” They conclude: “Ultimately, dealing with this problem is crucial for safeguarding NCAA athletes, particularly those from equity-deserving groups. Further solutions-focused research is necessary to advance the goal of fostering a safe sporting environment for collegiate athletes to thrive both on and off the field.” Journal British Journal of Sports Medicine DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2024-108282 To read the original article click here.

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How To Help Your Anxious Child + Tips For Raising Mentally Strong Children

AHA Publisher — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 07:00:34 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – Being a parent can be challenging, especially when it comes to teaching your child how to handle the hard stuff in life. There is a thin line between being overprotective and being overcritical, and often there are situations where doing or saying the right thing seems impossible. In this week’s blog and podcast, I speak with child psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Tina Payne Bryson about why we need to let our children experience negative emotions like anxiety and irritation, how to show up when your child is struggling, common parenting mistakes we all make and how we can avoid them, the importance of modeling behaviors as a parent or guardian, the difference between discipline and punishment, and what it means to take a mind-based approach to parenting. Over the past several decades, more and more research on the mind and brain has shown us that we have a lot more power to change our lives than we ever thought we did, even when it comes to parenting. As Dr. Bryson points out, when we start using our mind to think about the way we interact without children, asking more “why” questions and trying to figure out how to teach our child to regulate their feelings and responses, this can help us avoid common parenting mistakes like: 1. Just focusing on the behavior. One of the biggest mistakes we make as parents is that we focus too much on the behavior of the child and not enough on the mind behind the behavior. We should always be chasing the “why”. We need to investigate what is going on so we can treat the issue correctly; we need to peel the “layers” back. 2. Confusing punishment and discipline. We need to rethink discipline, and recognize that most of the time kids are doing the best they can. When our children are not doing well, then we need to approach the situation with curiosity, not just anger. What is going on? Why are the acting that way or saying those things? A disciplinarian should be a teacher and skill-builder, not a punisher. We shouldn’t punish kids for things they cannot help. The big question is, do they have skills to deal with this situation? What is their behavior telling us? It is important to remember that behaviors communicate the skills they need to learn. We need to stop punishing kids for things they don’t know how to do differently, which only makes them more anxious and upset. When it comes to discipline, we are so focused on behavior that we forget to pay attention to regulation, or what strategies we can teach children so that they can do better next time. Compliance through punishment or rewards does not mean success. Regulation means success—it gets to the “why” behind certain behaviors and teaches the child to cope and builds resilience by addressing the root of their feelings and behavior. 3. Not being on the same page. It is rare that two parents or guardians have an intentional and similar philosophy when it comes to discipline; most parents react in the moment. However, it is important that we take the time to get on the same page when it comes to how we choose to discipline our children. When there is a lot of conflict and confusion, it can undermine a child’s overall happiness. If you are parenting in response to the other parent’s reactions, you are not responding to the needs of the child. That does not mean you need to say and do the exact same thing as your partner or spouse. As Dr. Bryson notes, it is good for kids to learn how to manage different reactions and personalities. On the other hand, it is helpful if you talk to your co-parent about your discipline philosophy and get on the same page in terms of what you want for your kids and what you want your kids to become. This also means facing and dealing with your own childhood experiences. Are you repeating patterns from your own childhood, or trying to do things different without really examining your past experiences and what they mean? How has your childhood impacted you? How is your background affecting your parenting style? What is the mind behind your situation? When you can answer these questions, then you can learn how to resolve issues together as parents. 4. Pathologizing negative emotions and experiences. In our society, we tend to pathologize normal human emotions like grief and sadness, which has made us more fragile. We need to give ourselves and our children permission to feel and be uncomfortable, because life is full of uncertainty and challenges. Indeed, if we try to protect our children from negative emotions like sadness or anxiety, rather than teaching them that this is part of life and building up their resilience, we send them signals that we don’t trust that they can handle the situation, which will undermine their view of themselves and set them up for failure in the future. When your child is struggling, show up in the moment and allow them to feel what they feel. Don’t minimize how they feel, punish them or criticize their experiences. Say things like “I know this is hard” and “we will figure this out together”. Celebrate these feelings; teach your child that these emotions are normal and are telling them that something needs to be addressed in their life. This will help them build up their resilience and teach them how to cope with the ups and downs of life. As Dr. Bryson notes in her book The Power of Showing Up, being present in this way creates a safe environment where the child can learn how to be independent. It is important to remember that kids move towards independence when they feel safe enough to do so. If most of their experiences teach them that they are “safe, seen, soothed and secure”, this will help them build up their mental capacity and resilience, teaching them to cope and soothe themselves and others during hard times. It also affects what they seek out in a relationship, because their repeated experiences have taught them the value of feeling safe and secure in a relationship. This kind of parenting style does not mean that we won’t make mistakes from time to time. As parents, we don’t have to be perfect all the time. We need to look at the big picture: what are the majority of our child’s experiences teaching them? In fact, when we mess up and apologize, this is a good thing! We can model the real life “messiness” of relationships for our children, so the they too can model it in their own relationships. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Leaf click here.

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