Abuses of Power Among Elite Athletes: A Literature Review
This paper presents a literature review examining the various forms of power abuse that elite athletes commonly experience. It explores the fine line between functional weight management and clinically relevant eating disorders, particularly among female athletes in leanness sports. The paper also investigates emotional abuse perpetrated by coaches, including belittling, humiliation, threats, and isolation, and how these behaviors intensify once an athlete achieves elite status. Finally, it addresses the prevalence and cultural dimensions of sexual harassment in elite sporting environments, drawing on studies from Norway, the Czech Republic, and Puerto Rico to assess how gender dynamics, sport culture, and broader societal norms shape athletes' experiences.
- Introduction: Overview of power abuse forms in elite sport
- Eating Disorders and Weight-Control Behaviors in Elite Athletes: Weight pressures and eating disorders in leanness sports
- Emotional Abuse in the Coach-Athlete Relationship: Coach-inflicted emotional harm and its psychological impact
- Sexual Harassment in Elite Sports: Prevalence and power dynamics of sexual harassment
- Cultural Dimensions of Sexual Harassment in Sport: Culture and norms shaping harassment experiences
- Conclusion: Summary of abuse types and their common threads
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper synthesizes multiple empirical studies across different countries, giving its argument cross-cultural credibility and breadth.
- It moves logically from less severe to more severe forms of abuse — weight management pressures, emotional abuse, and finally sexual harassment — creating a clear escalating structure.
- It balances reporting general trends with specific quantitative findings (e.g., 25% of lean-sport athletes in the high-risk group), giving abstract claims concrete grounding.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective thematic literature synthesis: rather than summarizing each source in isolation, it groups studies by shared theme and uses them in conversation with one another to build a cumulative argument. This technique is particularly evident in the sexual harassment section, where studies from Norway, the Czech Republic, and Puerto Rico are compared to draw nuanced conclusions about how culture and elite status interact.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad framing of power imbalances in elite sport before moving into a literature review organized thematically. Each section introduces a type of abuse, reviews relevant empirical evidence, and notes complicating factors such as culture, gender, or athlete status. The conclusion is implicit in the final paragraphs rather than set apart as a formal section, which is typical of shorter undergraduate literature reviews.
Introduction
Elite athletes are routinely subjected to rigors and standards that far exceed those expected of the general public. Many issues common among elite athletes are known to affect either the body or the mind. Some athletes, for instance, are subjected to such high levels of discipline from coaches or parents that the experience can constitute emotional harassment or even abuse. Coaches and parents may also exploit athletes' bodies in a variety of ways. There is often a fine line between maintaining a body capable of peak performance and developing a clinically significant eating disorder. Female athletes frequently attempt to suppress weight gain, while males more commonly seek to increase muscle mass and density. Similarly, narrow thresholds exist between appropriate training and overtraining. Even more extreme abuses of power occur in this population, including sexual harassment and assault. This literature review examines the various forms of power abuse that are common among elite athletes.
References
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Fasting, K., Brackenridge, C., & Knorre, N. (2010). Performance level and sexual harassment prevalence among female athletes in the Czech Republic. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 26–32.
Fasting, K., Brackenridge, C., & Sundgot, B. (2003). Experiences of sexual harassment and abuse among Norwegian elite female athletes and nonathletes. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 84–97.
Gervis, M., & Dunn, N. (2004). The emotional abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches. Child Abuse Review, 215–223.
Krauchek, V., & Ranson, G. Playing by the rules of the game: Women's experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment in sport. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 585–611.
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Rodriguez, E., & Gill, D. (2011). Sexual harassment perceptions among Puerto Rican female former athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 323–337.
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Torstveit, M., Rosenvinge, J., & Sundgot-Borgen, J. (2007). Prevalence of eating disorders and the predictive power of risk models in female elite athletes: A controlled study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 1–11.
Werner, A. (2013). Weight-control behaviour and weight-concerns in young elite athletes — a systematic review. Journal of Eating Disorders, 1–18.
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