Bullying in Sports: The Definition Depends on Who You Ask

Author: Charles R. Bachand

Corresponding Author:
Charles R. Bachand, MS
112 Rock Lake Road
Longwood, Florida 32750
charles.bachand@knights.ucf.edu
407-937-9284

Charles Bachand is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Central Florida and an athletic coaching educator/lecturer.  

Bullying in Sports: The Definition Depends on Who You Ask

ABSTRACT
Research has been conducted regarding bullying in multiple fields of study for many years. The lack of a generally identified definition has limited not only the ability to compare research studies but the ability of organizations to promote rules and regulations consistently. The purpose of this literature review was to potentially find an existing definition that encompasses all aspects of bullying and if one was not identified, to create a comprehensive definition of bullying by using seminal definitions selected based on specific criterion. Methods used to identify these definitions included data base searches using key terms and criterion based in the subject area of education, medical, psychology, and sociology. Results show that there was no definition that included all ten coded indicators of bullying, which indicated there is no existing definition that fully identifies the action of bullying. The development of a complete definition of bullying was created using the coded indicators to assist in future research studies, data collection, coaching education, and the development of rules and regulations in athletic organizations as well as those organizations outside of athletics.
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