The Psychology of Resilience: Empowering Athletes with a Potential Risk of Experiencing Sexual Violence in Sports

Abstract

A positive, caring and safe sports climate is essential for the healthy development of young people. One of the responsibilities of parties involved in organised sports is to create a safe sports climate, but in practice, difficulties in creating such a climate are still experienced nowadays. Implementing prevention programmes solely focused on coaches or the environment is not a comprehensive approach. Therefore, the biopsychosocial profile of athletes representing potential risks of experiencing sexual violence in sports can serve as a base to develop prevention programmes aimed at empowering athletes and stimulating their resistance towards sexual violence. In practice, this requires measures to make (young) athletes more resilient against the dominant position of coaches and other authority figures within sports. But how? To answer this question, the psychology of resilience will be reviewed to gain insights into the future development of these practical measures to safeguard athletes.