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Links between Aggression and Children in Sports

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Links between Aggression and Children in Sports

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This study found that sports intervention can reduce the aggression of children and adolescents. Schools were suggested to organize low-level, non-contact sports for children to prevent bullying, violence and other aggressive actions. 141 athletes were surveyed and it was found that athletes from sports with higher physical contact are more aggressive than those who play sports with lower levels of contact. However, the higher index of physical activity led to a lower level of aggressiveness and that physical education played a key role in the prevention of bullying.

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Academic Editor: Davor Plavec

Abstract

Objective

To explore the impact of sports on aggression in children and adolescents and analyze whether different conditions in the intervention, such as type of sports, or intervention duration, have different influences on the effect of interventions.

Method

The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022361024). We performed a systematic search of Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Embase and Scopus databases from database inception to 12 October 2022 for all studies written in English. Studies were included if they met the following PICO criteria. All analyses were carried out using the Review Manager 5.3 Software. We summarized aggression, hostility and anger scores using SMDs. Summary estimates with 95% confidence intervals were pooled using DerSimonian-Laird random effects model or fixed effects model according to between-study heterogeneity.

Results

A total of 15 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review. The overall mean effect size indicated that sport interventions was associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.37, 95% CI [−0.69 to −0.06], P = 0.020; I ² = 88%). Subgroup analyses showed that non-contact sports were associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.65, 95% CI [−1.17 to −0.13], P = 0.020; I ² = 92%) but high-contact sports were not (SMD = −0.15, 95% CI [−0.55 to 0.25], P = 0.470; I ² = 79%). In addition, when intervention duration <6 months, sport interventions was associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.99, 95% CI [−1.73 to −0.26], P = 0.008; I ² = 90%) and when intervention duration ≥ 6 months, sport interventions was not associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.44 to −0.28], P = 0.660; I ² = 87%).

Conclusion

This review confirmed that sports intervention can reduce the aggression of children and adolescents. We suggested that schools can organize young people to participate in low-level, non-contact sports to reduce the occurrence of bullying, violence and other aggression-related adverse events. Additional studies are needed to determine which other variables are associated with aggression in children and adolescents, in order to develop a more detailed and comprehensive intervention programme to reduce their aggression.

Keywords: Sports, Aggression, Child, Adolescent, Meta-Analysis

Introduction

Aggressive behavior (AB) is defined as acts that directly target others with the intention of causing immediate harm to others, such as violence and bullying ( Anderson & Bushman, 2002; Azimi, Vaziri & Kashani, 2012). A study reported that about 51% adolescents showed a high level of aggression in secondary school, and the aggressive tendency indicated a significant growth trend throughout adolescence ( Hamza et al., 2019). Adolescents aggression exert a negative impact on perpetrators, victims and bystanders in varying degrees ( Wolke & Lereya, 2015). Bullying in adolescence increased the risks of poor academic performance, poor school adjustment, substance abuse, and violent and criminal behavior in later life ( Moore et al., 2017; Schoeler et al., 2018). Aggression would not only lead the implementers to develop internalized emotional problems and externalized problem behaviors, but also bring serious psychological adaptation problems to the victims ( Troop-Gordon, 2017). As a result of bullying, victims suffered adverse mental health, physical, and psychosomatic problems such as depression, suicide, stomach aches, and insomnia ( Moore et al., 2017; Schoeler et al., 2018). There were also psychological and behavioral problems reported by bystanders, such as anxiety, interpersonal sensitivity, and fears of further victimization ( Rivers et al., 2009). Aggression had seriously affected the physical and mental health, academic progress, personality development and social adaptation of adolescents ( Gini & Pozzoli, 2013; Gini et al., 2014).

At present, many studies have confirmed that sport is inversely associated with adolescent violence. The energy can be released by venting people's aggressive impulse in an appropriate way, so as to eliminate the aggressive tendency. Regular participation in sports could reduce the aggression of young people, because it provided frequent energy release opportunities ( Karin, Daniel & Roland, 2010). Sports intervention has a positive effect on aggressive behavior of children and adolescents ( Kim, 2016). The higher the physical activity level of school-age children, the lower their aggressive behavior ( Pino-Juste, Portela-Pino & Soto-Carballo, 2019). Fung & Lee (2018) found that Chinese martial arts can effectively reduce the reactive and proactive aggression of school-age children. Sports can help reduce adolescent aggression. For example, after-school volleyball program may reduce aggressive behavior of adolescents by adjusting fun, motivation and self-control ( Trajković et al., 2020a). Participating in organized school sports can strengthen teenagers' sense of belonging and dependence on school, and these characteristics will guide them to create and maintain a positive and orderly school environment, so as to stay away from violent and destructive acts ( Smith, 2011).

However, not all studies have found a negative relationship between sports and adolescent violence. A meta-analysis reported that there was no overall significant association between sports participation and juvenile delinquency, sports participation could not reduce the occurrence of juvenile delinquency ( Spruit et al., 2016). Méndez, Ruiz-Esteban & Ortega (2019) indicated that students who practiced physical activity at least four or more times per week, had higher values in the indicators of aggressiveness than students who practiced less frequently. Mutz & Baur (2009) reported that some rough physical contact in sports, or even fighting, actually leads to an increase in adolescent aggression. Kreager (2007) found that high-contact sports such as football and wrestling led to increased violence, while non-contact sports such as baseball and tennis did not. Zurita-Ortega et al. (2015) reported that the overt aggressiveness of teenagers who practiced sport regularly was higher than sedentary teenagers, because they began to compete with each other.

This systematic review aims to integrate the existing research on sports intervention and explore the impact of exercise on children and adolescents' aggression. According to existing research, analyze whether different conditions in the intervention, such as type of sports, intervention duration, have different influence on the effect of interventions.

Methods

The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022361024).

Search strategy

We performed a systematic search of Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Embase and Scopus databases from database inception to 12 October 2022 for all studies written in English. The search strategy was designed by Yahui Yang and Fengshu Zhu by an initial scoping review of the literature. Studies were identified by using all possible combinations of the following groups of search terms: (a) "adolescent" OR "teens" OR "youth" OR "teenager" OR "juvenile" OR "young" OR "minor"; (b) "physical training" OR "sport" OR "exercise" OR "athletics"; (c) "intervention" OR "behaviour change" OR "prevention" OR "experiment" OR "program" OR "reduction" OR "evaluation" OR "strategy" OR "effect"; (d) "aggression" OR "bullying" OR "violence" OR "assaultive behavior" OR "atrocity" OR "physical assault" OR "fighting". The specific search was amended as necessary for each database to account for different search functionalities. The reference lists of retrieved articles and grey literature were searched to detect studies potentially eligible for inclusion.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Studies were included if they met the following PICO criteria: (1) included typically developing children and/or adolescents (Population); (2) examined different sports including school physical education programs (Intervention); (3) included anactive/inactive comparator (Comparison) and (4) examined associations with aggression (Outcomes). Studies were excluded if they focused on populations with develop-mental disorders ( e.g., Down syndrome).

Study selection

Search results were imported into Endnote to remove duplicates. Yahui Yang and Hao Zhu screened the titles and abstracts of the retrieved articles independently to remove irrelevant articles. Then the same reviewers independently screened remaining articles in full to determine the final included studies. Disagreements were resolved by consensus or consultation with Fengshu Zhu.

Data extraction

One reviewer extracted specific characteristics from included studies, including country, study design, paticipants characteristics (age, gender), sample size, intervention programme characteristics (name, type, duration, frequency), comparison programme and outcome variables. Shachar et al. (2016) reported mean and standard deviation (SD) of baseline and change-from-baseline, the reviewer calculated the final mean and standard deviation according to Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.0 ( Higgins & Green, 2011). Another reviewer confirmed the content.

Outcomes

The primary outcome was aggression scores. The secondary outcomes were other externalizing behaviors of aggression, including hostility, anger, delinquent acts (including crimes of varying severity levels such as gang fights and extortion, but also minor theft and nuisances), attitude towards violence (ATV) and provocation/bullying scores. If outcomes were reported for more than one time point, we extracted results closest to post-intervention ( Fung & Lee, 2018). If two or more measurement tools were used, we referred to a previously described hierarchy of outcome measures ( Fung & Lee, 2018). If physical aggression and verbal aggression scores were reported concurrently, we extracted the physical aggression scores ( Trajković et al., 2020a; Trajković et al., 2020b; Shachar et al., 2016; Carraro, Gobbi & Moè, 2014; Reynes & Lorant, 2002).

Risk of bias assessment

Yahui Yang and Hao Zhu assessed risk of bias of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using the Cochrane collaboration tool 2.0 ( Sterne et al., 2019) and assessed risk of bias of quasi-experimental studies using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklists for Quasi-Experimental Studies ( The Joanna Briggs Institute, 2016) independently. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus or deliberation with Fengshu Zhu.

Data analysis

All analyses were carried out using the Review Manager 5.3 Software. We summarised aggression, hostility and anger scores using SMDs. Summary estimates with 95% confidence intervals were pooled using DerSimonian-Laird random effects model or fixed effects model according to between-study heterogeneity ( DerSimonian & Laird, 1986). The heterogeneity was estimated using I ², considering I ² values of <25%, 25-50, and >50% as small, medium, and large amounts of heterogeneity, respectively ( Higgins & Thompson, 2002). Subgroup moderator analyses were conducted to determine whether results differed according to intervention duration and sport type. Sensitivity analyses were used to explore the impact of individual studies. A narrative synthesis of the results was carried out using descriptive statistics in order to summarize characteristics of the studies where data cannot be extracted ( Ioannidis, Patsopoulos & Rothstein, 2008).

Results

Study characteristics and risk of bias

Following the screening process, 15 studies ( Fung & Lee, 2018; Trajković et al., 2020a; Trajković et al., 2020b; Shachar et al., 2016; Carraro, Gobbi & Moè, 2014; Reynes & Lorant, 2002; Mehralian et al., 2022; Rosa et al., 2021; Harwood-Gross et al., 2021; Blomqvist, 2020; Wade et al., 2018; Setty, Subramanya & Mahadevan, 2017; Hortiguela, Gutierrez-Garcia & Hernando-Garijo, 2017; Park et al., 2017; Pels & Kleinert, 2016) were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review. The detailed screening flow is shown in Fig. 1 . Included studies were published between 2002 and 2022. Six studies were RCTs and nine studies were quasi-experimental studies. Twelve studies reported aggression outcomes, five studies reported hostility and anger outcomes, two studies reported delinquent acts outcomes and attitude towards violence, and one study reported provocation/bullying outcome. Three studies were comparison between two sports events with no control group. Pels & Kleinert (2016) carried out a single experiment and interventions of other studies varied in duration from 4 weeks to 1 year (see Table 1 for details).

Table 1

Study, Design, Country

Paticipants, Sample size, Age, Gender

Intervention programme

Comparison group

Intervention duration, frequency

Outcomes

Blomqvist (2020)

Students from local martial arts academies

*Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) intervention

/

5 months, at least twice a week

a d

Fung & Lee (2018)

Children who scored z ≥ 1 on the total score of the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire

Wu gong (skill-based martial techniques): involved the basic hand-forms and foot stances, che quan (dragging punch), defense skills, and duichai (2-person combat sets)

The physical fitness training

10 90-minute weekly sessions

a d

Six RCTs and nine quasi-experimental studies were all identified as "moderate quality". The assessment results are shown in Tables 2 and ​and3 3 .

Table 2

Study

ls it clear in the study what is the 'cause' and what is the 'effect'?

Were the participants included in any comparisons similar?

Were the participants included in any comparisons receiving similar treatment/ care, other than the exposure or intervention of interest?

Was there a control group?

Were there multiple measurements of the outcome both pre and post the intervention/ exposure?

Was follow-up complete, and if not, was follow-up adequately reported and strategies to deal with loss to follow-up employed?

Were the outcomes of participants included in any comparisons measured in the same way?

Were outcomes measured in a reliable way?

Was appropriate statistical analysis used?

Table 3

Study

Selection bias

Performance bias

Detection bias

Attrition bias

Reporting bias

Other bias

Random sequence generation

Allocation concealment

Blinding of participants and personnel

Blinding of outcome assessment

Incomplete outcome data

Selective reporting

Impact of interventions on aggression

The overall mean effect size of nine included studies ( Fung & Lee, 2018; Trajković et al., 2020a; Trajković et al., 2020b; Shachar et al., 2016; Carraro, Gobbi & Moè, 2014; Reynes & Lorant, 2002; Mehralian et al., 2022; Wade et al., 2018; Park et al., 2017) was SMD = −0.37, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) −0.69, −0.06, indicating that sport interventions reduced aggression compared to a control group ( P = 0.020). There was significant heterogeneity between effect sizes between studies ( I ² = 88%, P < 0.001) ( Fig. 2 ).

According to the types of sport, non-contact sports ( Trajković et al., 2020a; Shachar et al., 2016; Mehralian et al., 2022; Wade et al., 2018; Park et al., 2017) were associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.65, 95% CI [−1.17 to −0.13], P = 0.020; I ² = 92%). High-contact sports ( Fung & Lee, 2018; Trajković et al., 2020b; Carraro, Gobbi & Moè, 2014; Reynes & Lorant, 2002) were not associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.15, 95% CI [−0.55 to 0.25], P = 0.470; I ² = 79%) ( Table 4 ).

Table 4

Study characteristics

Number of studies (sample size)

SMD

95% Cl

P

I ²

According to the intervention duration, when intervention duration <6 months ( Fung & Lee, 2018; Carraro, Gobbi & Moè, 2014; Mehralian et al., 2022; Park et al., 2017), sport interventions was associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.99, 95% CI [−1.73 to −0.26], P = 0.008; I ² = 90%). When intervention duration ≥6 months ( Trajković et al., 2020a; Trajković et al., 2020b; Shachar et al., 2016; Reynes & Lorant, 2002; Wade et al., 2018), sport interventions was not associated with lower aggression (SMD = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.44 to −0.28], P = 0.660; I ² = 87%) ( Table 4 ).

When the impact of individual studies was examined by removing studies from the analysis one at a time, we observed that when Mehralian et al. (2022), Park et al. (2017), Shachar et al. (2016) and Carraro, Gobbi & Moè (2014) been removed, the pooled results became insignificant ( P ≥ 0.05) ( Table 5 ). However, these studies did not share any specific characteristics.

Table 5

Removed study

MD (95% Cl)

P

I ²

Aggression

Hostility

Anger

Harwood-Gross et al. (2021) only provided the mean change-score comparison between martial arts training and controls on aggression so that it was not included in the meta-analysis. The aggression scores in both groups were increased, and the difference was not significant ( P = 0.85).

Blomqvist (2020) compared effects of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) intervention and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) intervention on aggression. The results showed that there was no significant main effect of aggression as a result of training ( P = 0.100). However, the interaction between aggression and sport was significant ( P < 0.001). Whereas MMA practitioners slightly increased their levels of aggression, BJJ practitioners reduced theirs. Pels & Kleinert (2016) reported a significant reduction of aggressive feelings was found for participants exercising individually in the rowing condition compared with the individual combat exercise condition.

Impact of interventions on delinquent acts

Blomqvist (2020) indicated that both MMA and BJJ intervention groups reduced criminal behaviour moderately ( P = 0.030). Fung & Lee (2018) found that Chinese martial arts group had light decrease in delinquent behavior than did the physical fitness training group, but there was no significant fixed effects of training were found in delinquent behavior ( P = 0.760).

Impact of interventions on attitude towards violence

Setty, Subramanya & Mahadevan (2017) and Hortiguela, Gutierrez-Garcia & Hernando-Garijo (2017) reported effects of sport intervention on adolescents' attitude towards violence. Setty, Subramanya & Mahadevan (2017) showed a significant change in both yoga and control groups in self-reported ATV, pre- and post-intervention ( p < 0.05). But the mean change in the yoga group is 39.59%, compared to 7.51% in the control group, indicating significant improvement. Hortiguela, Gutierrez-Garcia & Hernando-Garijo (2017) reported the results of two dimensions of ATV-unjustified violence and violence linked to self protection. The unjustified violence and the violence linked to self protection fell from high to medium in the judo and capoeira teaching units, significant difference with large effect sizes were found between the pre-test and the pos t-test in unjustified violence ( P = 0.021) while there was no difference in the control group.

Impact of interventions on provocation/bullying

Rosa et al. (2021) carried out judo and ball games among children and adolencents. A significant improvement in the domain of provocation/bullying was observed after the interventions, with judo increasing 18.1% and ball games increasing 4.1%. In other words, the participants felt safer and more confident about other people's negative attitudes.

Discussion

This review evaluated the effectiveness of existing sports interventions to reduce aggression in children and adolescents. The overall results showed that sports intervention could reduce the aggression and hostility of children and adolescents and could not reduce the anger, while the evidence is indeterminate at the domain level for delinquent acts, attitude towards violence and provocation/bullying.

A strong relationship between sport and aggression has been reported in the literature. Pino-Juste, Portela-Pino & Soto-Carballo (2019) reported that the higher the index of physical activity is, the lower the level of aggressiveness is. A systematic review pointed out that physical education played an important role in the prevention of bullying ( Jimenez-Barbero et al., 2020). Another review found that positive youth development Interventions with a physical activity component among pre- and early adolescents aged 8-14 years may lower bullying behaviors ( Majed et al., 2022). Gråstén & Yli-Piipari (2019) indicated that violence among children and bullying reduced during the Physical Activity as Civil Skill Program according to teachers' written feedback. These are consistent with our results. The European Commission's White Paper on Sport (2007) pointed out that the social code implied in the sports include fair competition and team spirit, which can cultivate teenagers' social behavior patterns and reduce their aggressive behavior. Lorenz (1966) believed sport was a ritualized venting of aggression, which teaches people to consciously and responsibly control their fighting behavior. However, the results of sensitivity analysis indicated the lack of robustness of the meta-analysis. This may be because the small sample sizes of the studies included in the meta-analysis and different basic characteristics of the studies led to a large heterogeneity of the pooled results, which requires cautious interpretation.

Subgroup analyses showed that non-contact sports were associated with lower aggression while high-contact sports were not. Sofia & Cruz (2017) surveyed 141 athletes from different types of sport and found the same result: athletes from sports with higher levels of physical contact tended to be more aggressive than those from sports with lower levels of contact. This may be because self-control lies in the central role in the regulation of aggression in sport ( Sofia & Cruz, 2015; Sofia & Cruz, 2016). High-contact sports mean strong competition and impulsivity. People who participate in non-contact sports could better control their aggressive behavior. In addition, the comparison between rowing and combat exercise also confirmed this opinion ( Pels & Kleinert, 2016), the non-contact rowing can reduce aggression more than the high-contact combat.

Moreover, when the intervention duration ≥6 months, sport interventions was not associated with lower aggression. There is no study focusing on the influence of the duration of sport intervention on the effect of intervention currently. Stansfield (2017) confirmed that higher levels of participation in sports increased violence involvement. Méndez, Ruiz-Esteban & Ortega (2019) also indicated that students with high exercise frequency were more aggressive than those with low exercise frequency. Due to the large difference of intervention frequency among the included studies, we did not conduct subgroup analysis. According to the result, it could conceivably be hypothesised that whether the low level of sport involvement releases the aggressive impulse, and with the accumulation of exercise, the aggressive impulse rises again. As we all know, high level of exercise can improve muscle strength, and muscular strength may be an important predictor of aggression in bullying ( Benítez-Sillero et al., 2021), this view also supported our hypothesis.

From the above mentioned, we have reason to believe that low level of non-contact sports involvement may be more conducive to the release of aggressive impulses, so then reducing aggressiveness of children and adolescents. Nevertheless, what kind of sport intervention frequency and duration can play the largest role in it needs further research.

Limitation

One limitation of this review was that the intervention programme of included studies were highly diversified with small sizes and varying assessment methods, which resulted in the high heterogeneity. Highly diverse sport intervention programs suggested that there might be other variables besides sport, such as the attention given to the participants, the approach of the coaches, the 'winning at all costs' philosophy of sport and cultures of different countries, that could also play a role in the results. Further studies are necessary to make clear which variables are actually factors contributing to aggression. Another limitation was that some of the included studies could not be meta-analysed due to the lack of standard control groups or the inability to extract data, so only descriptive statistics were made. Besides, the included studies were limited to peer-reviewed journals in English identified by the search strategy, potentially omitting other relevant studies.

Conclusion

This review confirmed that sports intervention can reduce the aggression of children and adolescents. We suggested that schools can organize young people to participate in low-level, non-contact sports to reduce the occurrence of bullying, violence and other aggression-related adverse events. Additional studies are needed to determine which other variables are associated with aggression in children and adolescents, in order to develop a more detailed and comprehensive intervention programme to reduce their aggression.

Supplemental Information

Supplemental Information 1
PRISMA checklist:

Supplemental Information 2
The rationale for conducting systematic review:

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Yangzhou University for providing the databases.

Funding Statement

Fengshu Zhu was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China: Research on the Construction and Application of Targeted Sport Intervention Model for Adolescent Aggressive Behavior (20BTY118). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Additional Information and Declarations

Competing Interests

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Author Contributions

Yahui Yang conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the article, and approved the final draft.

Hao Zhu performed the experiments, prepared figures and/or tables, selection of studies, extraction of data and assessment of risk of bias, and approved the final draft.

Kequn Chu performed the experiments, prepared figures and/or tables, selection of studies and extraction of data, and approved the final draft.

Yue Zheng analyzed the data, prepared figures and/or tables, and approved the final draft.

Fengshu Zhu conceived and designed the experiments, authored or reviewed drafts of the article, and approved the final draft.

Data Availability

The following information was supplied regarding data availability:

This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis, using data obtained from the included studies rather than raw data. Studies included in this analysis are available in Table 1 .

References

The European Commission's White Paper on Sport (2007) Commission of the European Communities BrusselsWhite Paper on Sport. 2007

Higgins & Green (2011) Higgins JPT, Green S. The Cocharane CollaborationCochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions version 5.1.0. 2011

Hortiguela, Gutierrez-Garcia & Hernando-Garijo (2017) Hortiguela D, Gutierrez-Garcia C, Hernando-Garijo A. Combat [ versus team sports: the effects of gender in a climate of peer-motivation, and levels of fun and violence in physical education students. Ido Movement for Culture-Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology. 2017;17(3):11-20. doi: 10.14589/ido.17.3.2. [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Lorenz (1966) Lorenz K. On aggression. Harcourt Brace Jovanocich; New York: 1966. [ Google Scholar]

Pino-Juste, Portela-Pino & Soto-Carballo (2019) Pino-Juste MR, Portela-Pino I, Soto-Carballo J. Analysis between aggression index and physical activity in school age. Journal of Sport and Health Research. 2019;11(1):107-116. [ Google Scholar]

Setty, Subramanya & Mahadevan (2017) Setty AGG, Subramanya P, Mahadevan B. Effect of yoga on adolescents' attitude towards violence. Journal of Human Values. 2017;14(2):81-91. [ Google Scholar]

Smith (2011) Smith JL. Doctoral Dissertation. 2011. The relationship between high school sports participation and youth violence; pp. 44-50. [ Google Scholar]

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Effects of sports intervention on aggression in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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To explore the impact of sports on aggression in children and adolescents and analyze whether different conditions in the intervention, such as type of sports, or intervention duration, have different influences on the effect of interventions.The study ...

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Athletics is a wonderful extracurricular activity. Team sports build camaraderie, responsibility and trust. Individual sports build determination, discipline and confidence. Participation in athletics builds physical strength, teaches lessons about practicing, overcoming failure and working to reach a goal, plus many students earn scholarships in their sport.

There are, however, some negatives with sports. Of course, there's the potential for injury, but many parents also worry about the stresses placed on the students' time and studies. Other parents fear that competition may turn into negative aggressive behavior.

First of all, aggression is not a negative. Being able to assert yourself in life and in sport is necessary, so strike a healthy balance. It's equally wrong for parents to encourage students to be overly aggressive or too timid. Sportsmanship - the ability to play hard and accept outcomes - is key. Good sportsmanship allows players to put in their full, aggressive energy without becoming brutal or a bully.

Fortunately, the area's scholastic programs and coaches reinforce good sportsmanship, but there are always a few students who may take it one step too far.

There are a number of triggers and warning signs that an athlete's behavior is negatively morphing and many ways to redirect aggression before it becomes dangerous.

First, be careful of what kids are watching. The observational learning seen in brawling, violent outbursts and fighting displayed on video games, YouTube and television sports coverage can glorify aggression, but neutralizing all aggression isn't good either. Remember watching doesn't stop at a screen. What signals are you sending as parents? Are you putting pressure on your athlete, being sad over losses and overly excited in victory? Are you being too forgiving? It's OK to drive a student who may be looking for an easy out to perform to their potential. Are you giving all their siblings the same attention? Between practices and road games, sports can take a lot of time. What if you have a non-athlete child? Do you spend as much time with them? If the scales are unbalanced, the athletic child may see themselves as more special, which may mean they feel more pressure to win or this may make them feel that they are better than average. Be careful - too much cheering on aggressiveness on the field could lead to increased aggression in everyday life.

Remember too that young children lack the maturity and experience to handle frustrating sports situations, which may lead to outbursts and tantrums on the field. Children haven't fully developed confidence and control over their emotions. Those who misbehave may be battling their own internal issues more than the competition.

Also watch for signs of stress. Many athletes are on the verge of burn-out. They feel pressure to not fail the team and fans, homework and studying, other activities, family and social responsibilities hormonal changes, and the pressures of college. Many of these kids don't eat right or get enough sleep. All these factors can make kids depressed or manifest in outbursts of violent or reckless behavior.

Gretchen Morgan, LCSW and owner of Lighthouse Counseling & Sand Play Training Center, offers these strategies to help parents better identify and intervene in troubling aggressive behavior.

"Throughout my daughter's early childhood, whenever she felt angry at a person or a situation, I would immediately say, 'it's OK to be mad, but it's not OK to be mean.' This saying was typically met with a high level of frustration, including stomping away, eye rolls or mumbling under her breath. Anytime I saw a potential for behavior to escalate into hostile aggression toward self or others, I repeated this simple phrase with her cousins, friends, children in the neighborhood and every one of my clients. After hearing this several hundred times, the kids would repeat it back to me (or to each other) when it was obvious that someone was about to lash out. What the children did not know is that, even though it was super annoying to hear that saying so often, they were internalizing a powerful mantra that could help guide them through a myriad of situations where emotions could quickly cross the line in violent behavior or abusive language.

"So, how then do parents encourage their children to be confident, assertive and decisive while involved in sports, but not cross the line into hostile aggression or abusive behaviors toward their teammates, opponents or coaches? I think the first and most important step is to ascertain whether the child actually wants to play in the sport. A large percentage of the clients I have assessed for anger management/impulse control concerns on the field over the past two decades have disclosed early in treatment that they are only participating in the sport because their parent(s) want them to. Even if these children have natural ability in a particular sport, if they take the field in a state of frustration and resentment about being forced to play, it will not take a large stimulus for them to show hostility. Parents who have honest conversations with their children each new school year may be surprised to discover that the baseball star may want to learn the guitar or the all-star soccer player may want to try cheerleading. I do not advocate for children leaving teams before the season is over (unless there is bullying and/or abuse that is not being addressed by the coach), but it is developmentally appropriate for children's interests to change as they discover the world around them.

"Next, I would assess how competition is treated in the home. If coaches or parents have a 'win at all costs' or 'if you aren't first you are last' mentality, children will be more likely to exhibit abusive behavior toward the opposing team in order to win. While I believe competition is healthy and necessary for children, parents must assess if they (or the coach) have manageable expectations for the child's ability and performance. They also need to assess if their desire for the child to win is based on the child wanting to win or if it is, in fact, the parent's ego that is tied into winning. There are important lessons to be learned by losing as well as winning, including humility, self-evaluation, frustration tolerance and perseverance.

"Finally, if your child loves to play sports, but is unwilling/unable to explore appropriate aggression levels required for team sports (like tackling an opposing player), encourage them to try alternate sports that have healthy levels of competition but no physical contact between players like swimming, track, tennis and dance. Sports do not have to be full contact to be impactful emotionally and physically for our children. Giving children the option of switching will also lead to more positive self-esteem (instead of chronically feeling like a disappointment for not wanting to be physically aggressive on the field).

"If your child is struggling with hostile aggression during sports play, it is important to seek treatment with a sports psychologist or a psychotherapist who specializes in child and adolescent anger management issues, which are not the same as adult anger management therapies."

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Dealing with Aggression in Children's Sports - The Journal Publications

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Our area school programs and coaches reinforce good sportsmanship, but there are always a few students who may take it one step too far.

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Filipe Manuel Clemente, Academic Editor and Ana Filipa Silva, Academic Editor

Abstract

Aggression and interpersonal violence (IV) against children and youth are issues in contemporary society. The current study reports on the youth athletes' perception of the aggression and IV prevalence and its manifestation forms in a Serbian context. The sample included athletes ( N = 2091) between the age of 11 and 18 years. Data were collected through an ad-hoc questionnaire created by the authors. Respondents' answers to introductory questions about the frequency of IV indicated its absence (78.1%). However, the answers to the questions about specific forms of violent peer behavior indicated forms as well as the time and place where IV most often occurs. They underlined that IV takes place mainly after training or competition and during sports camps; and that the dressing room is the most favorable place for these behaviors. They also confirmed that the most prevalent subtypes of IV are psychological (roughly 40%) and physical (approximately 30%). The respondents' opinions and experiences about IV (psychological, physical, sexual) revealed that factors such as gender, location, and parents' education level may influence the IV manifestation. Highlighting the prevalence and the most frequently manifesting types of aggression and IV could help in awareness-raising of these social issues.

Keywords: interpersonal violence, aggression, athletes, youth sport, Serbia

1. Introduction

The magnitude of aggression and violence against children is a growing concern in contemporary society. There are numerous daily life situations and ways in which they (may) experience those behaviors: observing (as a witness), expressing (as a perpetrator), or being the target of it (as a victim). Although aggression and violence are inherent in all societies and different areas of social life, their presence in children's and youth sports is particularly worrying, especially since it can often be found in the scientific literature that sport has a strong socializing character and has a positive effect on psycho-physical child development [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Therefore, it is important for young athletes to be able to recognize and define these behaviors in sport.

Researchers have established various theories on the reasons for aggressive behavior. Bandura [ 9] argued that children learn these behaviors by modeling (observing others) or in corroboration with reward or punishment, as he wrote in social learning theory. Another possible explanation is the theory of moral reasoning, which explains that the moral trial is an essential factor in explaining and predicting these behaviors. To observe this in another way, the theory of scenery describes how children, by observing violence in the mass media, learn aggressive scenarios, which consequently defines their direct behavior. Media has an important role in disseminating information on aggression and violence, which has a certain impact in the sports domain. Although the media provide the most prominent attention to hooliganism and vandalism, there are other minor forms of aggressive and violent behavior that should be described and explained. Furthermore, concerning the sports context, the theory of social exchange can be relevant. This is based on the premise that athletes consider the benefits and harms of their actions; they measure the punishment or damage in relation to the benefit that can be achieved. If the impermissible aggressive act is not punished enough in relation to the potential reward, the athlete will react aggressively [ 10]. Besides media, video games can also increase aggression in children [ 11]. Moreover, if the individual belongs to one group, he or she can change his/her personal identity for the social one, in which the person will behave following the group values, rules, traits, and beliefs, as described in the theory of social identity [ 10]. In addition to the above-mentioned theories, it is essential to clarify the distinction between aggression and violence. It is believed that there are over 200 definitions of aggression and that in most of them, we come across the key words "intent" and "causing harm" to other persons, animals, and objects [ 12]. Sublimating the essence of these definitions, "aggression is a behavior of a person that has an intent to harm another person, who is motivated to not become a victim of it" [ 13]. However, from a reductionists' point of view (especially in the field of legal sciences, legal regulations, and practical policies, violence is defined as a form of aggression with larger intensity and goal to cause severe serious physical harm [ 13, 14]. Consequently, all violent acts count as aggressive, but conversely, it is not the case. Based on the World Health Organization's definition (WHO), violence is defined as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation" [ 15]. However, it should be emphasized that in social sciences, defining violence is a very complex task, especially since the definitions are directly conditioned by which scientific discipline researchers belong to and for what purposes they define these terms. This is also the reason for the objective differences in the scientific generation of knowledge about violence. Although we have used the (reductionist) definition of violence prescribed by the WHO for the purposes of this paper, it should be emphasized that researchers in the field of social sciences have made significant progress in understanding violence exclusively as physical and direct. Among many definitions of violence, understood in a broader sense, it is worth mentioning the definition of J. Galtung (1969), which continues to be the starting point of numerous studies on violence. Namely, J. Galtung rejects the understanding of violence exclusively as a somatic incapacitation of others. He states that "violence is present when human beings are being influenced so that their actual somatic and mental realizations are below their potential realizations" [ 16]. Since in this paper we point out the problem of direct/interpersonal violence, there is no room to review other relevant scientific approaches to the problem of violence. It should also be pointed out that this field research was conducted in Serbian society, which in the last decade of the 20th and the first decade of the 21st century went through a process of post-socialist and post-war transformation. Such intense cumulative social changes have left deep marks on all social actors (and on all generational groups). Hence, the current research is a research report determining the youth athletes' perception of the presence and manifestation forms of aggression and IV in youth sport, which we understood as a specific social subsystem. Since it is a research report, we do not have specific hypotheses on the occurrence of aggressive and violent behavior in a youth sport context.

Physical, Psychological, and Sexual Violence in the Context of Youth Sport

Aggression and violence including diverse perspectives can be categorized in numerous ways such as direct or indirect, hostile or instrumental, overt and covert, self-directed, interpersonal, and collective. Furthermore, aggression and violence can be distinguished as psychological, physical, sexual, and neglect [ 13, 15]. The current study focuses on direct/interpersonal violence (IV), which is in line with the earlier research conducted in Serbia [ 17, 18, 19].

Non-accidental aggression and violence can take many forms such as criticism, discrimination, being shouted or sworn at, embarrassed, humiliated, teased, pushed, kicked, manipulated, gossiped, etc. [ 20, 21, 22]. There are numerous problems connected with these destructive behaviors. As a result, children can suffer potential negative and harmful consequences on their health, development, and well-being [ 23, 24, 25, 26]. For instance, the child can turn in and isolate oneself, lose self-confidence, or even burn out and leave the sport. Young people tend to have a positive picture of playing sports [ 20]. Even though children had experienced this negative behavior, their value of participation in sport outweighed their discomfort, and if they could choose, they would participate again in physical activity [ 26]. On the other hand, children can participate less in team sport after they suffer from unwanted violence and maltreatment [ 27].

More profound knowledge on the factors that elevate the risk of aggression and violence victimization is essential to create more effective prevention initiatives toward aggressive and violent behaviors. Based on the scientific literature, those factors can be age, gender, sport type, ethnicity (minority group), athletic ability (low), economic state (poor), sport level (elite), number of hours of weekly practice, disabled, and LGBT athletes [ 22, 27, 28, 29]. Hence, children and adolescents who can be characterized by some of these factors are primary in terms of vulnerability.

Many large-scale studies have investigated this topic in the field of youth sports and demonstrated its significance. In 2020, Parent and Vaillancourt-Morel [ 28] conducted a study on 1055 Canadian athletes to observe the magnitude of IV against children in the sporting context. Their findings indicated that 9.2% of the respondents had at least one experience of psychological violence, 39.9% physical violence, 35.7% neglect, and 28.2% sexual violence. Similarly, Vertommen et al. [ 29] examined the prevalence of IV in sport in the Netherlands and Belgium by surveying 4000 adults about their experiences with childhood violence while playing sport. As a result, 38% had an experience with psychological, 11% with physical and 14% with sexual violence before the age of 18. Another study among more than 6000 adults from the UK reported some negative or harmful experiences in sport as children in the following form: 75% emotional harm, 29% sexual harassment, 24% physical, and 3% sexual harm [ 20].

Much of the empirical evidence confirms that the most prevalent aggression form against children and adolescents is verbal [ 21], especially among girls [ 28, 29]. Generally, this form has the highest attention among peers. Interestingly, girls' verbal aggression is severe and hurts more than when the boys do it [ 30]. In contrast to these findings, boys are dominantly the perpetrators when we look at the presence of physical violence [ 18]. Additionally, in most studies, boys reported a higher proportion of physical violence experience than girls [ 20, 28, 29]. In the past, the first association with the sexual violence term was related to the coach-athlete relationship. The recent tragedy in elite USA gymnastics is one direct example of this, where the 'army of the survivors' (156 women athletes) spoke about their experiences as victims. In short, their doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused them for up to 10 years in terms of 'medical treatment' [ 23]. We also found studies with contradictory results for this kind of violence, where one study found no differences in terms of gender about the occurrence of sexual violence [ 28], while another highlighted that girls had a higher experience rate [ 29]. It is also important to note that athletes can also be perpetrators as well as victims of any kind of violence [ 20, 24, 30].

Addressing these unsportsmanlike behaviors in the sporting context is relevant because athletes of all ages and competitive levels are exposed to it [ 24]. Therefore, education is essential to build and disseminate awareness on non-accidental aggression and violence [ 23, 27, 30], even if it is a sensitive area. The children's social environment, namely the local community, school, sports clubs, and the family, have the power to prevent, recognize, and manage these issues. Thus, identifying prevention programs, strategies, initiatives, or training courses would be effective in the fight against aggression, violence, and exclusion episodes [ 22, 25] such as the "Sport against Violence and Exclusion" (SAVE) project [ 31].

Summarizing the results of previous research, we can state that aggression and IV exist in organized youth sport. However, previous research has mainly focused on examining the manifestations of aggressive behavior and IV in sport, neglecting some determinants such as time and place of aggression and IV manifestation. Accordingly, it seems that sport theory and practice lack information and the timing of aggressive behavior and violence, with the aim of better social intervention. This research intends to examine the perception of youth athletes of the existence and manifestation forms of aggressive behavior and IV in sport and its frequency, with an analysis of the place and time of its occurrence. The analysis of the status of sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents will also contribute to a better understanding of the researched determinants of aggressive behavior and IV.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

The study involved children and youth ( N = 2091) from the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. Their ages ranged between 11 and 18 years, attending primary or secondary/high school. Furthermore, they participated regularly in one or more of the following sports: archery, athletics, body shaping sports, combat sports, cycling, dance, equestrian sports, gymnastics, ice sports, nautical sports, racquet sports, small ball sports, team sports, water sports, and yoga.

All sampling processes of reducing the participant from a total sample size of children to the sample used in the present study are shown in Figure 1 .

Thus, among the total and eligible sample (N = 3000), 763 were excluded because they did not deliver the written informed consent. Furthermore, among the participants who accepted written informed consent (N = 2237; 74.56%), data from 146 participants were excluded due to missing data at least one variable of age, location, father's education, mother's education, number of children, sport, is there any violence in the sport you practice, and how often does violence in your sport occur among children.

Based on the relevant information from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, the total population of children from the territory of Vojvodina from 11 to 18 years is 148,493, while there are 3023 sports organizations. Therefore, the final sample in this study included 2091 participants, with a response rate of 69.7%, representing 1.4% of the total population of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

The research was approved by the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education Ethics committee with the official number: 46-11-07/2020-1.

2.2. Measurements

This research was carried out using a questionnaire designed to collect data on the topic of youth athletes' perception on IV existence and manifestation forms in youth sport. This method was chosen because of its nature to serve research with a very clearly defined problem and research objectives, with strict sampling designs and sophisticated analysis of the results. The benefits of applying this method for the purposes of this research are reflected in the ability to determine the behavior of respondents based on their attitudes, abilities, opinions, characters, and emotions while meeting the principles of rationality and economy. In the Serbian educational system (within the subjects Civic Education, Psychology, Sociology), children aged 11 to 18 mostly learn about violence (peer violence, adult violence against children etc.). Hence, in order to achieve terminological clarity in the questionnaire, respondents were asked questions about violence and not about aggression, in order to avoid possible misunderstanding of the questions. The survey was composed of the following sections:

Description of the respondents' socio-demographic characteristics: gender, age, location, father's education, mother's education, number of children in the family, and sport.

Questions for perception of IV presence which included: (a) frequency of the aggression and IV among athletes (from 1-never to 5-very often); (b) forms of IV that can occur (in theory) contain three items related to physical, psychological, and sexual violence and indicate the respondents' perceptions of possible forms of aggressive behavior and violence that may befall them during their sporting activities; (c) forms of IV that occurred most frequently (in practice), which explains the forms that are really happening in real sporting life of the respondents (physical, psychological, sexual); (d) time; (e) location where IV occurred; and (f) forms of IV to cover the whole experience of these destructive behaviors. The time of occurrence of violence included 8 items on the timing of aggressive behavior in relation to the arrival phase, during, or after training, competition or preparation in sports (before, during, and after training, before, during, and after competition, during travel, at sports camps). On the other hand, the variable venue included 4 items, concretizing the space of occurrence of IV (gym, dressing room, training area, bathroom/toilet area).

The authors of this research compiled the questionnaire, which was included in earlier studies [ 17, 18]. Prior to field research, a pilot study has been performed with limited number of respondents ( N = 60). The questionnaire showed satisfactory metric measurable results. The data obtained from this pilot study generally showed good reliability and satisfactory validity of the new measuring instrument. Thus, the reliability of the scales can be expressed via the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α) of internal consistency from 0.81 to 0.93. The validity of the new measuring instrument was determined by linear correlation analysis (linear correlation coefficient, r), where the correlation coefficient r (validity measure) ranged between 0.74 and 0.80.

The answers were measured on a five-point Likert scale, from completely disagree (1) to completely agree (5). As already pointed out, the questionnaire consisted of questions whose answers would indicate whether respondents were aware of what manifestations of IV behavior exist as well as questions about which forms of those behaviors really exist in the sport they train in. The survey was conducted anonymously.

2.3. Procedures

A cross-sectional design was used for the study's construction. The research was conducted between October 2019 and October 2020. In order to ensure the best possible treatment of research, distribution of all questionnaires was forwarded through the Association of Physical Education Teachers of Vojvodina and Association for school sports of the city of Novi Sad, which contributed to quite a good process of the collection of data. Executives from these associations organized and randomly distributed 3000 questionnaires to children who participated regularly in one or more of the above-mentioned sports in randomly selected sports clubs among a network of sports clubs in Vojvodina (3023 sports clubs). Moreover, the study involved villages, suburbs, towns, and cities, and the process of collecting the data was conducted at the introduction part of training in sports clubs. The questionnaire completion took up to 30 min including the basic instructions for the support of children and youth participants for filling in the questionnaire by the researchers and coaches. More importantly, they explained the terminology used, which could be unknown to athletes. Additionally, each participant took part in the study on a voluntary basis. Participants, their parents, and club representatives were informed about the purpose of the research with the emphasis that all data are anonymous and will be used exclusively for scientific research purposes. Finally, all data were processed and managed in accordance with the legislation on the protection of personal data and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2.4. Data Analysis

First, the descriptive statistics of the socio-demographic characteristics and the occurrence of IV were calculated. Then, the Chi-squared test and the Mann-Whitney U test were deployed to examine the differences. The collected data were analyzed through IBM SPSS version 24.0. The statistical significance level was set at p < 0.05.

3. Results

3.1. Descriptive Characteristics of the Sample

Table 1 presents the number and frequency of the participants by gender, age, location, father's and mother's education, number of children in the family, and type of sport. It can be observed that the prevalent gender was male (60.9%). Besides, the largest percentage of the children and youth lived in towns or cities (78.1%) and attended primary school (63.5%). Their parents' educational level was roughly equal; slightly dominant for the secondary/high school category. Hence, it allows for investigations of the influence of the parents' educational level on the children' attitudes toward aggressive behaviors such as IV. In addition, over 70% of families had up to two children. Finally, team (73.2%), combat (8.6%), and water (8.2%) sports were prevalent.

Table 1

Variable

N

%

Gender

Age

Location

Father's education

Mother's education

Number of children in the family

Sport

Is there violence in the sport you practice?

How often does violence in your sport occur among children?

3.2. Attitudes toward IV

Based on the results from Table 1 , in variable "Is there violence in the sport you practice", which evaluated only the respondents' perception of violence in the sport in which they practice, 68% of athletes did not detect any forms of aggression or violence in their sport. Thus, it is not surprising that the vast majority stated neutral or negative attitude toward those behaviors. Furthermore, in the next control variable "How often does violence in your sport occur among children", the obtained results found almost 10% lower frequencies of IV (78.1%, summary of rarely and never categories). Therefore, responses in these two variables showed some differences between the respondents' perceptions on existing IV in general and its frequency. Therefore, the results in these two variables from a general context needed an additional specified explanation in the context of place, time, and form of IV, which is presented in Table 2 .

Table 2

Variable

I Completely Disagree

I Disagree

I Am Neutral

I Agree

I Completely Agree

When does violence among children occur?

Where does violence among children occur?

Forms of violence that can occur (in theory)

Most common forms of violence that have occurred (in practice)

3.3. Place, Time, and Form of IV

In Table 2 , responses underlined that the preferred time for IV was the period after training (20.9%) or competition (15.8%) and during sports camps (15.1%). In line with this, almost 30% of athletes identified the dressing room as the most favorable place for these negative behaviors. Another key finding is that the most prevalent form of IV that could occur and the most common type were psychological (roughly 40%) and physical (approximately 30%).

3.4. Associated Factors with IV

The results in Table 3 revealed the existence of gender difference in the answers concerning IV occurrence. Although both girls and boys indicated a low presence of IV in their sport, girls reported IV occurrences as less frequent than males (Boys yes = 37.0%; Girls yes = 24.2%; χ ² = 39.65, p < 0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant association between the number of children in the family and IV manifestation. If the family had three or more children, the above-mentioned destructive behavior was less noticeable, but it appeared more frequently than in families with up to two children (Less than 2 children yes = 33.4%; More than two children yes = 28.7%; χ ² = 4.19; p < 0.05).

Table 3

Variables

Is There Violence in the Sport You Practice?
(%)

How Often Does Violence in Your Sport Occur among Children?
(%)

3.5. Differences among Different Types of IV

The respondents' opinions and experiences on IV (psychological, physical, sexual) in sport are presented in Table 4 . A higher perception of physical (U = 521,237.5, p < 0.01) and psychological (U = 490,568.0, p < 0.01) violence was found among girls compared to boys. Furthermore, girls also indicated a higher level of psychological violence in practice (U = 525,082.0, p < 0.01). Interestingly, sexual violence was significantly related to villages compared to other locations, both in theory (U = 355,822.0, p < 0.01) and in practice (U = 347,470.0, p < 0.01).

Table 4

Variables

Forms of Violence that Can Occur
(in Theory)
(Mean Rank)

Forms of Violence that Occurred Most
Frequently
(in Practice)
(Mean Rank)

Finally, significant differences were found among the parents' educational levels. Specifically, lower educational levels of the mother and father were related to perceived physical (U Father = 469,877.5, p < 0.01; U Mother = 441,360.0; p < 0.01), psychological (U Father = 481,308.0, p < 0.01; U Mother = 454,255.0; p < 0.01), and sexual violence (U Father = 475,519.5, p < 0.01; U Mother = 436,413.0; p < 0.01) and actual physical (U Father = 486,243.0, p < 0.05; U Mother = 457,064.0; p < 0.05) and sexual (U Father = 470,656.5, p < 0.01; U Mother = 441,654.0; p < 0.01) violence.

4. Discussion

The current study reports on the youth athletes' perception of the existence and manifestation forms of aggression and IV in youth sport in north Serbia (the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina). Specifically, apart from the above mentioned, this study considered some factors that may contribute to the occurrence of these destructive behaviors. The target population were athletes attending elementary and high school. Their answers were collected via questionnaires. Interestingly, the findings of this study indicate some contradictory claims.

Measuring the prevalence of sport-related IV among children and youth athletes is difficult since it often takes place latently. Namely, 78.1% (when we combined answers "rarely" and "never") of athletes denied any kind of IV in their sport. The fact that their attitude was negative in the first place toward IV is notwithstanding with their additional answers. Therefore, with latent answers, the opposite was determined. A possible explanation can be that this topic is really sensitive, and in most cases, perpetrators and victims are reluctant to discuss or report these issues [ 21, 27]. In light of this, children and youth do not feel comfortable speaking up [ 20] because showing bad behaviors such as IV is wrong and socially "inappropriate". Furthermore, children and youth are sometimes not even aware that they are victims [ 21] because of the "normalization" of those destructive behaviors in their social environment [ 20, 26]. This is due to the fact that in the last few decades, children and youth in Serbian society grow in an environment that is manifestly peaceful and democratic, and latently tolerant of violence that is all-pervasive in real and virtual environment (in school, on the street, in city transport, in the media, in social networks). Growing up in such a social environment can negatively affect the perceptions of children and youth of what violence is or is not. We determined this by asking introductory as well as control questions about the respondents' perception of whether there was IV in youth sports. It turned out that 78.1% of respondents answered negatively to this question. However, the answers to the questions with offered examples of violent behavior indicate that the respondents perceived that the existence of violent behavior was mainly psychological (almost 40%) and physical (about 30%). By analyzing the subtypes of IV in our results, the most prevalent form that could occur (in theory) and the most common (in practice) are psychological (roughly 40%) and physical (approximately 30%). Correspondingly, the scientific evidence also underlines that the psychological subtype is the most prevalent [ 20], followed by the physical and sexual [ 21, 28, 29]. Indeed, the psychological type is the core of all other forms [ 24].

Moreover, the results indicate that these non-accidental harms perpetrated on athletes are mostly typical for the period after training or competition and during sports camps, which is in line with the previous studies [ 25, 27]. Moreover, almost one third of respondents identified the dressing room as the place where it usually happens. It is understandable because children are still under the games' emotions, which can cause excessive reactions. It is important to mention that generally, the dressing room is the only unsupervised place from coaches and parents, within the spatial framework of this research; thus, children and youth can act according to their own rules and will, without sanction [ 19].

Therefore, this research report indicates the fact that sport is not immune to the wider social circumstances including aggression and IV, even though every child has a right to a safe sport that is respectful, equitable, and free from those destructive behaviors [ 24, 27]. Looking at the factors that may contribute to the occurrence of aggression and violence, gender characteristics significantly influenced their manifestation as well as in one earlier study [ 26]. Although girls and boys did not indicate high occurrence of aggression and IV in the sports domain, boys were more involved in those destructive behaviors in this research. Similarly, Vveinhardt et al. [ 21] stated that boys tended to be more likely to be involved in bullying. Furthermore, the number of children within a family had an impact on the frequency of IV. If they had three or more children, those destructive behaviors were less noticeable, but their appearance frequency was higher.

Finally, the athletes' perception and experiences on IV (psychological, physical, and sexual) showed that factors such as gender, location, and parents' education level influenced the occurrence of such various forms. The first question was related to the opinion of children about the IV forms that can occur, while the second question was about their experiences, and how the types of those destructive behaviors manifested in practice. Findings suggest that based on gender, girls have a higher perception of psychological and physical violence than boys. Additionally, there were also statistical differences for physical violence (only in theory). It also underlines the fact that psychological violence is the most dominant subtype of all, especially among girls [ 18, 28, 29]. Furthermore, the location indicated that respondents living in villages or suburbs had a higher level of sexual violence compared to their peers living in towns or cities. Finally, the parents' educational level had a significant impact. If they finished only primary or secondary education, their children characterized higher scores of all three types of violence that can occur in theory, and physical and sexual violence manifestation in practice. Moreover, athletes from families with one or two children tended to report more sport violence than children living in families with three or more children. A previous study showed that having two or more siblings predicted the occurrence of violence among siblings [ 32]. Similarly, athletes coming from families with three or more children may consider IV as more "common" than children living only with parents (without siblings).

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Studies

The limitations of this research should be noted. The research process was difficult because of the emergency measures that were in force in Serbia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample representativeness could be improved with larger sample size and a mainly equal number of gender and sporting types. In addition, this research was geographically limited to Serbia's autonomous northern part, which may not provide the real picture of the occurrence of aggression and IV across the whole country. Apart from this, a longitudinal study design would be more appropriate to evaluate the aggression and violence manifestations in greater depth.

5. Conclusions

The research findings underline the youth athletes' perception on the existence of aggressive and violent behavior and manifestation in organized youth sport in the Serbian context. Although the majority of the respondents answered to the introductory questions that "there is no violence" in their sport, the answers to the further questions indicated different findings. Such incompatibility (about the existence of IV in youth sports in general) and the latter questions about specific forms of IV can be understood as insufficient sensitivity of respondents to what the term "violence" means to them. This can be supported by the answers to later questions that indicated the existence of some forms of IV in the field of psychological and physical violence. Furthermore, this study analyzed some important IV determinants such as time and place. As a result, the most favorable times for IV were the periods after training or competition and during a sports camp. The dressing room was marked as the most dominant place. For better understanding of these destructive behaviors, the study revealed that some factors such as gender and the number of children in the family were associated with the occurrence of IV. Besides these aspects, the location and the parents' education level influenced the manifestation of various violence forms (psychological, physical, and sexual) that can occur in theory and in practice.

Moreover, this field research in the sports domain has several (practical) implications. First, it showed that organized youth sport is not a priori good or bad for children but has the potential of producing both positive and negative outcomes. Second, bearing in mind the general social circumstances in Serbian context, it potentially indicates the insufficient sensibility of children and youth to what violence in sport is or is not. Finally, by highlighting the occurrence and the most manifesting forms of aggression and IV, these results could help athletes, coaches, parents, caregivers, etc. in raising the awareness of these problems. Although future research could define practical tools for recognizing, preventing, and reducing aggression and IV in organized youth sport, this study could provide a useful empirical basis toward that goal.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all study participants.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.M.M., I.M.M. and B.B.; Methodology, R.M.M.; Software, R.M.M.; Validation, A.G.; Formal analysis, P.D.; Investigation, J.V.; Resources, P.D.; Data curation, A.G.; Writing-original draft preparation, R.M.M., I.M.M. and B.B.; Writing-review and editing, R.M.M., I.M.M., B.B. and A.G.; Visualization, J.V. and P.D.; Supervision, B.M.Š.; Project administration, I.M.M. and R.M.M.; Funding acquisition, P.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The data used in this study were collected within the research project "Peer violence in children and youth sports" (register number: 142-451-2573/2019-01), which was conducted by the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education and financed by the Provincial Secretariat for Higher Education and Scientific research.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The research was approved by the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education Ethics Committee with the official number: 46-11-07/2020-1.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects and parents involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the corresponding author without undue reservation.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Footnotes

Publisher's Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Youth Athletes' Perception of Existence and Prevalence of Aggression and Interpersonal Violence and Their Forms in Serbia

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Aggression and interpersonal violence (IV) against children and youth are issues in contemporary society. The current study reports on the youth athletes' perception of the aggression and IV prevalence and its manifestation forms in a Serbian ...

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This study found that 78.1% of children ages 11-18 rarely or never faced any interpersonal violence (IV) in their sport. This is notwithstanding with their additional answers, children do not feel comfortable speaking about IV or don't even realize they are suspects of it in the first place. Some of the questions asked in the questionnaire indicated that about 40% of the kids faced psychological violent behavior and 30% faced physical violent behavior. Gender, location, and parent's education level seemed to influence the occurrence of such various forms.

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Descriptive stats on IV relying on the respondents

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Descriptive stats on IV relying on the respondents

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the social learning theory is a theory that is based on the assumption that learners observe and model other people's actions. The keys are attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Athletes, coaches, and parents can be role models that kids learn these strategies, habits and actions from.

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In sports, the instinct theory of aggression says that athletes are naturally inclined to behave aggressively in competitive situations. This aggressive behavior comes from the athlete's innate desire to win, compete and protect themselves and their team.

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Aggression in sport refers to any physical or verbal behavior that is intended to cause harm or injury to an opponent or to gain an advantage over them. It can manifest in various forms, such as physical violence, verbal abuse, intimidation, or unsportsmanlike conduct.

In some cases, aggression in sport can be a natural and healthy expression of competitive spirit, motivating athletes to push themselves to their limits and perform at their best. However, when aggression crosses the line into violent or abusive behavior, it can be detrimental to both the individual athletes and the sport as a whole.

Many sports have rules and regulations in place to discourage aggressive behavior and ensure the safety of all participants. Coaches, officials, and players all have a responsibility to promote fair play and respect for the rules of the game, and to address any instances of aggression that occur on the field or court.

Examples of Aggression in Sport

There have been several high-profile incidents of aggressive behavior in sport over the years. Here are some examples:

Malice at the Palace (2004): In an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, a fight broke out between players and eventually spilled into the stands, resulting in numerous injuries to fans and players. The incident led to suspensions and fines for multiple players and highlighted the need for increased security measures in sports venues.

Zinedine Zidane headbutt (2006): In the final match of the FIFA World Cup, French soccer star Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italian player Marco Materazzi in response to alleged insults. The incident resulted in Zidane being sent off the field and eventually retiring from soccer.

Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan (1994): In one of the most notorious incidents in figure skating history, Tonya Harding's ex-husband and bodyguard conspired to injure Nancy Kerrigan, one of Harding's main rivals. Kerrigan was hit in the knee with a metal bar, which resulted in her withdrawing from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Harding was eventually banned from competitive figure skating.

Mike Tyson ear-biting incident (1997): During a boxing match with Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson bit off a portion of Holyfield's ear, resulting in his disqualification from the fight and suspension from boxing.

Luis Suarez biting incidents (2010, 2013, 2014): Uruguayan soccer player Luis Suarez has been involved in multiple biting incidents during his career, including biting opponents during matches in 2010, 2013, and 2014. He received suspensions and fines for these incidents.

These incidents serve as a reminder of the need for athletes, coaches, and officials to prioritise sportsmanship and respect for opponents, and to work together to prevent aggressive behaviour from escalating. It is also important to understand aggression and why athletes might behave aggressively. We now turn to exploring aggression in more detail.

Hostile and Instrumental Aggression in Sport

Hostile aggression and instrumental aggression are two types of aggression that can occur in sport. While both involve behavior that is intended to harm others, they differ in their underlying motivations and goals.

Hostile aggression in sport is aggressive behavior that is driven by anger, frustration, or a desire to inflict harm on others. In sport, this type of aggression often involves retaliation against an opponent, verbal or physical taunts, and other unsportsmanlike conduct. The goal of hostile aggression is to cause harm or damage to the opponent or to assert dominance over them.

Instrumental aggression, on the other hand, is a form of aggression in which the athlete uses aggression as a means to achieve a goal or objective. In sport, instrumental aggression may involve strategic fouling, physical contact, or other aggressive behaviors that are aimed at gaining an advantage or protecting oneself or one's team. The goal of instrumental aggression is to achieve a specific outcome rather than to harm or intimidate the opponent.

While both types of aggression can occur in sport, hostile aggression is generally viewed as more problematic than instrumental aggression, as it can lead to injury, negative emotions, and a breakdown of fair play. We now turn to look the underlying reasons why people might behave aggressively in sport.

Why Do People Behave Aggressively in Sport?

There are lots of possible reasons why people may behave aggressively in sport. Two of the most common explanations are frustration-aggression theory and Instinct Theory,

The frustration-aggression theory is a psychological theory that suggests that aggression can be the result of frustration. In the context of sport, frustration-aggression theory suggests that when athletes experience frustration, such as a perceived injustice, failure to meet a goal, or an obstacle in their way, they may become more likely to act aggressively towards others.

In sport, frustration can arise from a variety of sources, such as perceived unfairness by officials, injuries, or the actions of opponents. Athletes who feel frustrated may respond with aggressive behavior, either towards their opponents, teammates, coaches, or officials. This behavior can include verbal taunts, physical confrontations, or other unsportsmanlike conduct.

The frustration-aggression theory in sport highlights the importance of managing frustration in athletes to prevent aggressive behavior. Coaches and trainers can help athletes to develop coping strategies for dealing with frustration and to channel their energy into positive actions, such as improving their skills or working on team strategies. In addition, officials and sports organizations can work to create fair and equitable environments to reduce instances of frustration and aggression.

The instinct theory of aggression in sport suggests that aggressive behavior is an innate biological response that is driven by an individual's natural instincts. According to this theory, aggression is a basic human drive that is necessary for survival and can be triggered by various factors, including competition, territorial disputes, and self-defense.

In the context of sport, the instinct theory of aggression suggests that athletes are naturally inclined to behave aggressively in competitive situations. The theory proposes that aggressive behavior in sport is a result of an athlete's innate desire to win and to protect themselves and their team.

While the instinct theory of aggression in sport provides a biological explanation for aggressive behavior, it has been criticized for oversimplifying the complex nature of human behavior. Many experts suggest that while biological factors may play a role in aggressive behavior, social and environmental factors also have a significant influence on an athlete's behavior.

Overall, the instinct theory of aggression in sport highlights the importance of understanding the underlying factors that contribute to aggressive behavior in athletes, including both biological and environmental factors. This understanding can help coaches, officials, and athletes to create a safe and fair environment that promotes positive sportsmanship and reduces instances of aggression.

Reducing Aggressive Behaviour in Sport

Reducing aggressive behavior in sport is an important goal for coaches, officials, and athletes. Here are some strategies that can be used to reduce aggressive behavior in sport:

Establish clear rules and consequences: Coaches and officials should establish clear rules and consequences for aggressive behavior in sport. This includes disciplinary measures for unsportsmanlike conduct, such as penalties, suspensions, or fines.

Promote positive sportsmanship: Coaches and officials should promote positive sportsmanship by modeling respectful behavior and emphasizing fair play, teamwork, and respect for opponents.

Provide education and training: Athletes, coaches, and officials should receive education and training on the dangers of aggressive behavior in sport, including the risks of injury and the negative impact on team dynamics and overall performance.

Foster a positive team culture: Coaches can help to foster a positive team culture by promoting open communication, emphasizing teamwork and cooperation, and encouraging athletes to support and respect one another.

Manage frustration: Athletes can learn to manage frustration by developing coping strategies, such as deep breathing, positive self-talk, and visualization, and by focusing on the things they can control, such as their own performance and attitude.

Provide appropriate supervision: Coaches and officials should provide appropriate supervision during games and practices to ensure that athletes are following the rules and to prevent aggressive behavior from escalating.

By implementing these strategies, coaches, officials, and athletes can work together to reduce aggressive behavior in sport and promote a positive and safe environment for all participants.

Summary

Aggression can have server consequences in sport. Not only in terms of physical and emotional damage to the victim, and occasionally the perpetrator, but also in terms of the reputation of the person who committed the act.

If you would like advice on mental skills in sport and reduce aggressive behaviour in sport we would strongly encourage you to speak to a specialist. You can find qualified sport psychology consultants listed on our site, by visiting our home page and using our easily searchable directory.

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Discover how aggression plays a role in competitive sport, the causes and consequences of aggressive behavior from athletes, and how to combat this.

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Link between children and aggression in sports

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Differences: The main difference is that social learning theory is learned or attained from people or things while the instinct theory is already in someone because they are born with it since it is instinctual.

Similarities: The main similarity is that the end goal can and oftentimes will be the same, you can learn to be aggressive just as much as you are already inclined to be aggressive because it is instinctual.