Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Erik Schott

Abstract

This research explores sexual abuse in youth sports by studying the perceived effectiveness of established trainings mandated for youth sport coaches. It discerns how the perceived effectiveness varies between youth sport organization directors, and the parents of the athletes. The aim was to discover if the required trainings are successfully being utilized by coaches and effectively contributing to a safe sport culture, or if more needs to be established to keep athletes safe. Finally, the parent’s knowledge of what defines sexual abuse, potential risks, and what to look out for in the realm of youth athletics was assessed to further decide if this gap in awareness and education could be a potential contributing factor. This qualitative study utilizes individual interviews with youth sport organization directors, and the parents of the athletes they train. Data was interpreted to discover overlapping trends, recurring themes and highlight contributing factors of the issue. The findings from this study highlight the significant gap in awareness, understanding and education of sexual abuse in youth sports between parents and directors. Parents and players need to be offered educational opportunities on this topic so they can have more active roles in youth athlete safety. Implications for social work include involvement and engagement of social workers in the various fields and levels of athletics so that they can advocate for, and protect children from, abuse within the sport setting.

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