Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2019 June, 248(2)

Verbal Abuse from Coaches Is Associated with Loss of Motivation for the Present Sport in Young Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study in Miyagi Prefecture

YUTAKA YABE,¹ YOSHIHIRO HAGIWARA,^1,2 TAKUYA SEKIGUCHI,¹ HARUKI MOMMA,² MASAHIRO TSUCHIYA,³ KAORU KUROKI,^2,4 KENJI KANAZAWA,¹ MASASHI KOIDE,¹ NOBUYUKI ITAYA,¹ SHINICHIROU YOSHIDA,¹ YASUHITO SOGI,¹ TOSHIHISA YANO,¹ EIJI ITOI¹ and RYOICHI NAGATOMI^2,5

¹Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
²Department of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
³Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁴Department of Rehabilitation, Tohoku Fukushi University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁵Division of Biomedical Engineering for Health and Welfare, Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

Verbal and physical abuse from coaches has negative effects on young athletes. Although the abuse can lead to the athletes' dropping out, no studies have reported on this topic. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between experience of verbal or physical abuse from coaches and loss of motivation for the present sport in young athletes. School-aged athletes (age range, 6-15 years, n = 6,791) were assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association between experience of verbal or physical abuse and loss of motivation for the present sport. Variables considered in the models were sex, age, body mass index, presence of bodily pain, team levels, number of training days per week, number of training hours per day on weekdays and weekends, and frequency of participation in games. The prevalence of loss of motivation for the present sport was 8.1%. Experience of verbal or physical abuse was significantly associated with loss of motivation for the present sport and the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.93 (1.54-2.42, p < 0.001) for verbal abuse and 1.76 (1.27-2.42, p = 0.001) for physical abuse. Findings of this study suggest that experience of verbal or physical abuse from coaches is associated with loss of motivation for the present sport. Eradication of verbal and physical abuse from coaches is important for young athletes to continue sport participation.

keywords —— coach; loss of motivation for sport; physical abuse; verbal abuse; young athlete

© 2019 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2019, 248, 107-113

Correspondence: Yoshihiro Hagiwara, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8574, Japan.

e-mail: hagi@med.tohoku.ac.jp