Young athletes’ evaluation of abusive situation: An innovative approach associated with the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

Adolescents frequently face situations of interpersonal violence during the practice of a sport, and these often remain undetected or underdetected. This can be explained by the priority given to performance over physical integrity, by the belief in the idea of «no pain no gain,» or by the multiplexity of the relationship between coach and athlete. This study is based on And You ... ?, an original immersive activity that allows us to evaluate the perception of various situations of abuse based on five excerpts from mainstream films. The data analyzed were collected from 203 young athletes at the site of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne and St. Moritz, Switzerland. The results show contrasting but homogeneous reactions to the situations presented. These differences could be explained in part by the fact that the violence is hierarchized, with physical abuse being more severely perceived than psychological abuse. We also observe that a situation is perceived as more reprehensible when several types of violence occur simultaneously. Another factor is the internalization of violence, which is normalized because it is perceived as an integral part of the path to excellence. Finally, we find that psychological violence of a sexual nature is equally condemned by women and men, a possible sign of a normative change in this regard.