title: Profiling perpetrators of interpersonal violence against children in sport based on a victim survey.
abstract: The current article reports on perpetrator characteristics gathered in the first large-scale prevalence study on interpersonal violence against children in sport in the Netherlands and Belgium. Using retrospective web survey design, 4043 adults answered questions on their experiences in youth sport. The study looks at the number of perpetrators as well as individual descriptive characteristics (sex, age, and role in the sport organization) of perpetrators of psychological, physical and sexual violence as reported retrospectively by victim-respondents. This information was then clustered to provide an overview of the most common perpetrator profiles. Results show that in all types of interpersonal violence in sport, perpetrators are predominantly male peer athletes who frequently operate together in (impromptu) groups. Several differences between the three types of interpersonal violence are highlighted. While incidents of physical violence perpetrated by coaches tend to be less severe compared to those by other perpetrators, acts of sexual violence committed by a coach are significantly more severe. The presented findings shed new light on perpetrators of interpersonal violence in sport, nuancing the predominant belief that the male coach is the main perpetrator while providing nuanced information that can be utilized to improve prevention and child protection measures and other safeguarding initiatives in sport.
authors.affiliation: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Department of Applied Psychology, Thomas More University College, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: Tine.Vertommen@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vertommen
authors.affiliation: StatUA, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Biometris, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jarl
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kampen
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Olympic Committee and Netherlands Sports Confederation (NOC*NSF), Arnhem, The Netherlands; Research Centre Human Movement and Education, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nicolette
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schipper-van Veldhoven
authors.affiliation: Department of Scientific Coordination and Biostatistics, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kristien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wouters
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Psychology, Thomas More University College, Antwerp, Belgium; Experimental-clinical and health psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kasia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uzieblo
authors.affiliation: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; University Department of Psychiatry, campus Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Den Eede
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D001530:Belgium; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010379:Peer Group; D000066550:Physical Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000067009:Youth Sports
keywords: Characteristics; Child abuse; Harassment; Maltreatment; Organized sport; Youth sport