Younger athletes who experience interpersonal violence are less likely to feel psychologically safe and report it

A large body of research has revealed high prevalence of interpersonal violence (e.g., sexual abuse) in sport, which may be greater in young athletes who are more vulnerable to abuse and harassment. Sport leaders have therefore encouraged researchers to identify what best protects athletes and what increases the likelihood of interpersonal violence being reported to a safeguarding officer. Psychological safety has emerged as one factor that may encourage this. We asked 476 competitive athletes (age range = 16 to 59) to complete measures of experience of interpersonal violence, psychological safety and intention to report interpersonal violence to a safeguarding officer. Results revealed a significant indirect (via psychological safety) effect of experience of interpersonal violence on reporting intentions, which was moderated by age. That is, experience of interpersonal violence negatively predicted intention to report interpersonal violence via psychological safety at all three levels of age, with the indirect effect decreasing as age increased. Results of our study highlight that young athletes who experience interpersonal violence, are less likely to feel psychological safe and in turn, report interpersonal violence to a safeguarding officer. For national and international sport organisations, prioritizing feelings of psychological safety is needed to improve the likelihood of athletes reporting interpersonal violence to a safeguarding officer. Given that young athletes may be less likely to report interpersonal violence when feeling psychologically unsafe, emphasis should be placed on creating environments in sports clubs that engender a culture of speaking out about concerns without consequence.