Bullying in professional sports: psychological needs of athletes

BACKGROUND: This paper aimed to establish whether bullying in sports affects the satisfaction of such psychological needs as autonomy, competence, and relatedness in professional sports. METHODS: The instruments in this work were the Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (BPBQ), the Motivational Mediators Scale in Sport (EMMD), and the Psychological Needs Thwarting Scale (PNTS). The participants were 708 professional athletes. RESULTS: Comparison of EMMD and PNTS means unveiled that professional athletes with no bullying experience are more psychologically satisfied and less thwarted in all three dimensions (competence, autonomy, and relatedness). Among the group exposed to bullying, victims (18.92) and bullies (23.18) had the lowest needs in terms of competence, while bullies (26.14) and victims (20.10) experienced the lowest autonomy. The relatedness factor was most pronounced in victims' defenders (34.06) and least in victims (16.39). The lowest competence thwarting was found for outsiders and defenders, and the highest -among victims of bullying (18.12). But both bullies and their helpers had significantly higher scores than the other two roles. The need for autonomy, in turn, was least thwarted in outsiders and defenders, and most -in victims, as in the case of the relatedness subscale. CONCLUSIONS: The practical and scientific value of this work stem from the fact that it proves the negative impact of bullying on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. The obtained findings can facilitate the development and implementation of updated educational programs and practices, leadership systems, as well as be conducive to the work of sports psychologists.