Athletes’ Interpersonal Destructive Relationships: Links between Forms of Aggression and Bullying Episodes in Sport Settings

Background. It is acknowledged that aggressive behavior and bullying in sports are destructive aspects of interpersonal relationships. Objectives. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of bullying and various forms of aggression in the aspects of athletes’ gender and different types of sports and to reveal links between bullying and aggression in sports settings. Methods. The study involved 1440 athletes representing individual, combat, and team sports. The survey was conducted employing scales of the Bullying and harassment in sport questionnaire (BHISQ): the scale of Types of aggression during training and competitions (TATC) and the scale of Victim, bystander, and bully among insiders and against opponents (VIBB). Results. The results of the study show that the prevalence of aggressive behavior in the total sample is 12.5 percent. Statistically significant differences in aggressive behavior by gender were identified only in the area of physical and indirect aggression. The verbal form of aggression does not depend on gender but is most commonly used among combat sports athletes. Physical aggression is more common in team sports. After analyzing the prevalence of bullying, it was found that it constituted 46.9 percent of the total sample and the gender factor strongly shows up. Athletes who use aggression engage in bullying episodes more frequently. Conclusion. The analysis of the relationship between forms of aggression and bullying in sports revealed that in the presence of higher aggression in athletes the risk of bullying in interpersonal relationships increases.