Celia Brackenridge

Maximizing Transparency in a Doctoral Thesis1: The Complexities of Writing About the Use of QSR*NVIVO Within a Grounded Theory Study

This article discusses the challenges of how to provide a transparent account of the use of the software program QSR*NVIVO (QSR, 2000) within a grounded theory framework (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Psychology students are increasingly pursuing qualitative research projects to such an extent that the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) advise that students should have skill in the use of computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) (Economic and Social Research Council, 2001). Unlike quantitative studies, rigid formulae do not exist for writing-up qualitative projects for doctoral theses. Most authors, however, agree that transparency is essential when communicating the findings of qualitative research. Sparkes (2001) recommends that evaluative criteria for qualitative research should be commensurable with the aims, objectives, and epistemological assumptions of the research project. Likewise, the use of CAQDAS should vary according to the research methodology followed, and thus researchers should include a discussion of how CAQDAS was used. This article describes how the evolving process of coding data, writing memos, categorizing, and theorizing were integrated into the written thesis. The structure of the written document is described including considerations about restructuring and the difficulties of writing about an iterative process within a linear document.

`HE OWNED ME BASICALLY...' Women's Experience of Sexual Abuse in Sport

Many women have, at some time, been the subject of sexual harassment or abuse in their working lives. This paper explains how similar experiences also occur in sport and why they have particularly devastating consequences for girls and women. Sexual harassment and abuse arise from the culture of sport and from the opportunities for exploitation of power and authority which this affords coaches. Results from studies of personal accounts of abuse by former women athletes are presented and used to test various explanatory theories of abuse.

Temporal and developmental risk factors for sexual harassment and abuse in sport.

Recent revelations of sexual misconduct by sports coaches have challenged long-held beliefs in the educational value of sport, yet there is very little knowledge about the dynamics of sexual exploitation in sport upon which to base improvements in the practice of sports coaching or teaching. Earlier inductive research by Brackenridge in Britain established a set of hypothesized risk factors for sexual abuse in sport which have subsequently been reinforced by the results of survey research on elite athletes in Canada. However, risk analysis for sexual abuse in sport has not yet been framed within a temporal or developmental sequence, nor sufficiently differentiated between elite and recreational levels of sport, or between coach-initiated and peer-initiated abuse. This article reports selected findings from a Dutch qualitative study of 14 athletes who have survived sexual abuse in sport. The aim of the study was to identify risk factors that influence sexual abuse and harassment and to analyse which risks might be diminished through a prevention policy implemented by sport organizations. The Dutch study reinforces the earlier risk factor analyses but extends them by putting forward a preliminary temporal model of risk in sport that integrates offender behaviour with athlete and situational factors. On the basis of this model, suggestions are made to assist early diagnosis and prevention of sexual harassment and abuse by authority figures in sport.

Prevalence of sexual harassment among Norwegian female elite athletes in relation to sport type.

Although it is often assumed that the prevalence of sexual harassment is different indifferent sports, the assumption has not been empirically tested. This study considers whether the experience of sexual harassment varies by sport. The female elite athletes (N = 553) in the study participated in 56 different sport disciplines. These were grouped as: 1) team or individual sports; 2) extent to which clothing required for competition is revealing; 3) gender structure (male- or female-dominated membership statistics); and 4) gender culture (masculine, gender-neutral or feminine). The data show that sexual harassment occurs in every sport group. Female elite athletes who participated in ‘masculine’ sports appear to experience more harassment than women in the other groups. We conclude that, when it comes to female athletes’ experiences of sexual harassment, sport type matters far less than sport participation per se.

Experiences of Sexual Harassment and Abuse among Norwegian Elite Female Athletes and Nonathletes

Abstract This paper compares the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse among 660 Norwegian elite female athletes and an age-matched control sample of non athletes. It also explores differences in the prevalence of harassment and abuse in sport and work or school settings and compares harassment and abuse perpetrated by male authority figures and peers in these different contexts. No differences were found between the athletes and controls in overall prevalence of sexual harassment or abuse. However, the athletes experienced significantly more harassment from male authority figures than did the controls. Based on these results, the article considers whether or not sport offers women any particular immunity from sexual harassment and abuse. The implications of the findings for structural and cultural change in sport are discussed.

Fair Play or Fair Game? Child Sexual Abuse in Sport Organisations

Feminist perspectives in sport research have helped to problematise gender relations in sport and to highlight dominating behaviours such as sexual harassment. It is argued that the independent status of many voluntary sport organisations helps to protect coaches from the scrutiny of certain state regulations and, consequently, offers easy targets for indivi duals with sexual motives. The paper sets the problem of child sexual abuse in sport within this broad context of organisational accountability and raises issues for both research and professional practice.

Coaches, sexual harassment and education

Sexual harassment in sport has become an active research field within the past decade yet we know relatively little about the characteristics of the harassing coach. How are harassing coaches characterised by their victims, that is, the athletes themselves? Do they demonstrate specific kinds of behaviours? One purpose of this article is to address these types of questions. Another is to assess the usefulness of general classifications of perpetrators of sexual harassment. This is done by examining whether qualitative data from sexually harassed elite female athletes support the various conceptual frameworks for sexual harassment that are presented. Results from interviews with 19 female elite athletes who were sexually harassed by their coaches produced a sport typology that consists of three main types: (1) The Flirting-Charming Coach; (2) The Seductive Coach; and (3) The Authoritarian Coach. These types are discussed in relation to the previous classifications to test the degree of fit. The limitations of monolithic classifications are exposed by this exercise: the data suggest that, rather than being one-type only, sexually harassing coaches select from a repertoire that may include several different harassment scripts. They vary these according to situational conditions. The wider limitation of social science classifications, that their categories are not discrete, also applies here. This need not be a practical limitation, however, if the typologies are used as heuristic devices rather than to determine, for example, specific disciplinary outcomes or treatment regimes. Sexual harassment prevention is often either missing from coach education programmes altogether or subsumed within broader themes such as (gender) equity or diversity management. One of the educational values of typologies is that they focus attention on the range of potential sexually harassing behaviours in ways which might otherwise escape attention. Communication styles, postures, gestures and group management techniques are just some of the elements of coaching that can be improved with an understanding of sexual harassment scripts. It is difficult to assess whether feminisation of the coaching profession would lead to a less harassing environment. But, since this environment is so closely linked to hegemonic masculinity, and what are often described as traditional male values, we hypothesise that a transformation of the coaching culture, and associated re-scripting of coach behaviour, might be easier if more female coaches were involved in sport.

Who Rules Sport? Gender Divisions in the Power Structure of British Sports Organisations from 1960

The increase in participation of women in sport has not been matched by a similar increase in the involvement of women as administrators and decision-makers. In all British sports organisations studied, women remained underrepresented at administrative, controlling and decision-making levels. Analysis of trends since 1960 revealed little change in the percentage of women occupying positions of power. Womens power has been effectively lessened since the 1960s with the move towards a more professionalised and bureaucratised state-controlled sports environment since there are few women among the new professionals. The trends are further discussed in the context of the changing place of women in British society.

Sexual harassment and abuse in sport: The research context

Abstract This publication draws on the contributions to a Symposium on ‘Sexual Harassment in Sport - Challenges for Sport Psychology in the New Millennium’, held at the Xth Congress of the International Society for Sport Psychology, Skiathos, Greece from May 28th to June 2nd 2001. The symposium was intended to move forward the international research agenda on sexual harassment and abuse in sport and, in particular, to examine professional practice issues for sport psychologists. It was clear from the attendance of over 60 delegates at that symposium that international interest in this subject is growing. Further evidence of this came from the attendance of 26 members states - from Azerbaijan to Sweden - at a Council of Europe seminar on The Protection of Children, Young People and Women in Sport, held in Helsinki in September 2001. It seemed appropriate, therefore, to take the work on sport-based sex abuse research to a wider audience, both to increase awareness of sexual abuse in extra-familial settings and to attract critical interest in the sharing of research perspectives between those working inside and outside sport. One of the co-organisers of the Skiathos Symposium (Celia Brackenridge) is a NOTA member and serves on its Research Sub-Committee so it seemed particularly appropriate to approach the Journal of Sexual Aggression with a proposal for this publication. We are delighted that Marcus Erooga and Helen Masson were enthusiastic about the idea and we thank them and the publishers for investing in this issue on sport. We sincerely hope that this marks the start of a long and fruitful exchange of research ideas and expertise between sports researchers and readers of the Journal.

Consequences of sexual harassment in sport for female athletes

Abstract Sexual harassment research was first undertaken in the workplace and educational settings. Research on sexual harassment in sport is scarce but has grown steadily since the mid-1980s. Even so, very little is known about the causes and/or characteristics and/or consequences of sexual harassment in sport settings. This article reports on the findings from interviews with 25 elite female athletes in Norway who indicated in a prior survey (n = 572) that they had experienced sexual harassment from someone in sport. The consequences of the incidents of sexual harassment that were reported were mostly negative, but some also reported that their experiences of sexual harassment had had no consequences for them. ‘Thinking about the incidents’, a ‘destroyed relationship with the coach’, and ‘a more negative view of men in general’ were the most often negative consequences mentioned. In addition, a surprising number had chosen to move to a different sport or to drop out of elite sport altogether because of the harassment.