An examination of the relationship between self-confidence and bullying among adolescent athletes and non-athletes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v70.116853Keywords:
Self-confidence, bullying, adolescents, athletes, sport participation, gender differences, psychological factors, moderation analysisAbstract
Introduction: this study addressed the relationship between self-confidence and bullying involvement among adolescent athletes and non-athletes, a topic of growing importance in the field of educational psychology and youth development.
Objective: the research aimed to examine whether self-confidence, athletic participation, gender, and sport type influence bullying involvement, and to determine if athlete status moderates the relationship between self-confidence and bullying behavior among adolescents.
Methodology: a quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 300 adolescents, categorized as athletes and non-athletes. participants completed a structured questionnaire on bullying and self-confidence. analyses included logistic regression, Chi-square tests, One-way ANOVA, MANOVA, and multiple linear regression for moderation effects.
Results: the findings showed that lower self-confidence was associated with higher bullying involvement. athletes exhibited significantly lower rates of bullying than non-athletes. team sports participants reported the highest bullying scores, and males showed greater involvement than females. moderation analysis revealed that athlete status significantly weakened the relationship between self-confidence and bullying.
Discussion: the results confirmed earlier research suggesting that sport participation and psychological factors jointly influence adolescent social behavior. however, differences across sport types and genders highlighted the need for more nuanced investigation into contextual variables.
Conclusions: in conclusion, fostering self-confidence and promoting inclusive, supportive sport environments appears essential for mitigating bullying among adolescents.
References
Adjanin, N., & Beemer, R. C. (2024). Beyond the Hashtags: The Impacts of Self-Promotion and Social Media on Sleep and Mental Health among Student-Athletes. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.17161/jis.v17i3.21474
Alseiari, S. R., Al Qatawneh, I. S., Kandeel, M. E., & Moussa, A. F. (2022). The player's penal responsibil-ity for the actions of violence in sports: legal analysis in context of United Arab Emirates law. Physical Activity Review, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.16926/par.2022.10.21
Aslan, S. (2021). The prediction of university adjustment in Turkish late adolescents through Five Fac-tor Personality dimensions. Journal Of Educational Sciences & Psychology, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.51865/JESP.2021.2.13
Bissell, K., Chou, S., & Dirks, E. (2024). Elite but struggling: Mediated narratives of women athletes and mental health disclosures. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 26(1), 4-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/15226379231222732
Boudreault, V., Gagnon-Girouard, M. P., Carbonneau, N., Labossière, S., Bégin, C., & Parent, S. (2022). Extreme weight control behaviors among adolescent athletes: Links with weight-related mal-treatment from parents and coaches and sport ethic norms. International review for the sociol-ogy of sport, 57(3), 421-439. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902211018672
Burke, S., Sharp, L. A., Woods, D., & Paradis, K. F. (2023). Athletes’ perceptions of unsupportive paren-tal behaviours in competitive female youth golf. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35(6), 960-982. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2023.2166155
Çemç, M. S., Madak, E., Gülen, Ö., & Sönmez, H. O. (2025). Aggression in crime and sports: a study on prisoners and amateur combat athletes in Türkiye. BMC psychology, 13(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02329-w
Chamberlin, J. M., Fry, M. D., Long, H., & Iwasaki, S. (2025). Perceived Team Motivational Climate, Ath-letic Identity, and Academic Endeavors Among High School Athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 1(aop), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2023-0023
Edison, B. R., & Rizzone, K. (2023). Benefits of sport and athletic identity. In Psychological considera-tions in the young athlete: a multidisciplinary approach (pp. 1-19). Cham: Springer Internation-al Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25126-9_1
Escofet-Martín, D., Ros-Morente, A., & Torrelles-Nadal, C. (2025). Acoso Escolar y Deporte: Una Revi-sión Sistemática Según las Directrices PRISMA. Journal of Psychology & Education/Revista de Psicología y Educación, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.70478/rpye.2025.20.08
Escofet-Martin, D., Ros-Morente, A., Torrelles-Nadal, C., & Ros-Morente, A. (2025). Relaciones entre el acoso escolar, la práctica deportiva y el neuroticismo. Un estudio retrospectivo. Retos, 67, 668–680. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v67.114326
Feng, O., & Duncan, L. R. (2025). Canadian national sport organisations’ eating disorder-related poli-cies and practice guidelines: a summative content analysis. International Journal of Sport Poli-cy and Politics, 17(2), 287-307. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2024.2378139
Fetoui, A., & Skordilis, E. (2025). Abuse Experiences and Physical Self-Perceptions of Para Athletes in Greece. Advances in Physical Education, 15(2), 286-314. https://doi.org/10.4236/ape.2025.152021
Filleul, V., d’Arripe-Longueville, F., Garcia, M., Bimes, H., Meinadier, E., Maillot, J., & Corrion, K. (2024). Anti-doping education interventions in athletic populations: a systematic review of their char-acteristics, outcomes and practical implications. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2024.2306629
Giffin, C. E., Schinke, R. J., Middleton, T. R., Kerr, G., Lariviére, M., Kpazaï, G., & Petersen, B. (2021). Un-derstanding the staff cancer through the perceived experiences of varsity male soccer players. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 13(6), 1027-1045. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1834444
Güleç, S., & Özbay, A. (2024, July). Psychological resilience, gaslighting and life satisfaction in a sample of Turkish women. In Women's Studies International Forum (Vol. 105, p. 102945). Pergamon. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2024.102945
Houison, R. J., Lamont-Mills, A., Kotiw, M., & Terry, P. C. (2025). They’re Only Human! Tension and Stress Predict Performance of Softball Umpires in National Championships. Sports, 13(2), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13020035
Ijezie, O. A., Healy, J., Davies, P., Balaguer-Ballester, E., & Heaslip, V. (2023). Quality of life in adults with Down syndrome: A mixed methods systematic review. PloS one, 18(5), e0280014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280014
Lan, X., Cao, Z., & Yu, L. (2022). Analyzing the mental states of the sports student based on augmenta-tive communication with human–computer interaction. International Journal of Speech Tech-nology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10772-021-09947-4
Lenka, P., & Behura, A. K. (2023). Philosophy of Sports: Analyzing Sports Effects for Leadership Excel-lence. Physical Culture and Sport, 101(1), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2023-0022
Li, M., Xu, Q., Han, X., Jiang, Y., Ya, R., & Li, J. (2023). A cross-sectional historical study on the changes in self-esteem among Chinese adolescents from 1996 to 2019. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1280041. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1280041
Ocampo, R. (2024). Recognizing Risks and Building on Resilience. In The Influence and Psychology of American Football Coaches Upon Adolescents: The Warrior Mentality (pp. 97-210). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69320-5_5
Omarov, B., Omarov, B., Rakhymzhanov, A., Niyazov, A., Sultan, D., & Baikuvekov, M. (2024). Develop-ment of an artificial intelligence-enabled non-invasive digital stethoscope for monitoring the heart condition of athletes in real-time. Retos, 60, 1169–1180. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v60.108633
Omarov, N., Omarov, B., Azhibekova, Z., & Omarov, B. (2024). Applying an augmented reality game-based learning environment in physical education classes to enhance sports motivation. Retos, 60, 269–278. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v60.109170
Omarov, B., Zhumanov, Z., Gumar, A., & Kuntunova, L. (2023). Artificial intelligence enabled mobile chatbot psychologist using AIML and cognitive behavioral therapy. International Journal of Ad-vanced Computer Science and Applications, 14(6). http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2023.0140616
Pichler, E. M., Ewers, S., Ajdacic‐Gross, V., Deutschmann, M., Exner, J., Kawohl, W., ... & Claussen, M. C. (2023). Athletes are not at greater risk for death by suicide: a review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 33(5), 569-585. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14316
Pillay, J. (2021). Suicidal behaviour among university students: a systematic review. South African Journal of Psychology, 51(1), 54-66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246321992177
Pushkina, N. (2024). Developing Social Skills Through Rhythmic Gymnastics in American sport. Futuri-ty of Social Sciences, 2(2), 79-102. https://doi.org/10.57125/FS.2024.06.20.05
Reardon, C. L., Gorczynski, P., Hainline, B., Hitchcock, M., & Rice, S. (2024). Anxiety disorders in ath-letes. Clinics in sports medicine, 43(1), 33-52. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061783.
Rusillo Magdaleno, A. ., Suarez-Manzano, S., Moral García, J. E. ., & Ruiz Ariza, A. (2024). Asociación de la práctica de actividad física semanal con bullying y ciberbullying en chicos y chicas de 10 a 16 años (Association of weekly physical activity practice with bullying and cyberbullying in boys and girls aged 10 to 16 years). Retos, 59, 759–766. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v59.107358
Stanković, N., Todorović, D., Milošević, N., Mitrović, M., & Stojiljković, N. (2022). Aggressiveness in judokas and team athletes: Predictive value of personality traits, emotional intelligence and self-efficacy. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 824123. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.824123
Trinidad, A. (2024). Variables and instruments to evaluate mental health in competitive swimmers: a narrative review. F1000Research, 12, 1281. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.140504.3
Tsiama, P. J. A., Ghimbi, N. L. M., Moussounda, M. S. M., & Ndziedi, F. R. M. (2021). Hearing attention of young adult sportsmen prone to alcohol. Psychology, 12(6), 1025-1037. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.126061
Wang, Q., Zainal Abidin, N. E., Aman, M. S., Wang, N., Ma, L., & Liu, P. (2024). Cultural moderation in sports impact: exploring sports-induced effects on educational progress, cognitive focus, and social development in Chinese higher education. BMC psychology, 12(1), 89. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01584-1
Wilkinson, M. (2023). Martial Arts Participation, Aggression, and Self-Control: An Examination of the “Gentle Arts.”. Journal of Amateur Sport, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v9i1.18706
Willmott, E. F., Thrower, S. N., Williams, T. L., & Petróczi, A. (2023). The perfect storm: a meta-ethnography of the motivations, behaviours, and experiences of competitive bodybuilders. In-ternational Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2023.2263851
Wu, R., Jing, L., Liu, Y., Wang, H., & Yang, J. (2022). Effects of physical activity on regulatory emotional self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional intelligence of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1059786. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1059786
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Satmyrza Mamikov, Ainur Abdullayeva
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
