Table 1
Categories of the definition of bullying and coaches’ responses justifying them.
| Categories | Respostes dels participants |
| Repetition | “To belittle another person on a continuous basis” (basketball coach) “When a person is constantly subjected to criticism, mockery, derogatory comments from peers” (football coach) “Bullying is the constant harassment of a person for no reason” (swimming coach) |
| Intent to harm | “For me, bullying is when a child or group of children aim to tease or make fun of a peer” (padel coach) “The intention to cause a negative effect on a person or groups of people, thus making them feel bad or unhappy with themselves or with life” (athletics coach) “A way of intentionally harassing and hurting people” (multi-sport activity coach) |
| Imbalance of power | “It is the act of humiliating a person and making them feel inferior” (basketball coach) “Bullying for me is acts of exclusion by one child or several children to another child making him/her feel inferior to the group” (basketball coach) “Showing superiority over another person as a motive for personal satisfaction” (multisport activities coach) |
| Consequences for the victim | “Is a situation of rejection of a specific person that negatively affects their way of being or living, be it through verbal harassment, physical harassment, etc.” (football coach) “A set of actions, usually directed from a group to a single person, that provoke feelings of loneliness, contempt, vulnerability, sadness, and even depression in the latter. The biggest effect it has on the person who suffers from it is lack of self-esteem, due to the influence of offensive behaviour and words from peers” (multisport activities trainer) “Abuse by a person or group towards a person or group that creates a state of discomfort for the victim and can affect them psychologically with serious consequences” (swimming coach) |
| Harassment | “Bullying is physical or psychological harassment that is carried out on a continuous basis towards an individual” (athletics coach) “Harassment of a person by one or more persons, both physically and psychologically” (artistic gymnastics coach) “It is harassment by a person or a group of people towards another individual” (basketball coach) |
| Discrimination | “Discrimination by a group or a person against another person because of some weakness that makes him or her vulnerable” (rugby coach) “Bullying is the discrimination by one or more persons against another person or persons, either physically or verbally, causing negative effects on the person who suffers it” (football coach) “Discrimination and marginalisation of another individual by a person or group of people” (roller hockey coach) |
| Mistreatment | “Physical or psychological abuse, by any person or group of persons, of another person, in any situation. It includes making jokes in bad taste, disrespect, discomfort, insults, etc.” (football coach) “Abuse, both psychological and physical, to another person” (basketball coach) “Psychological and physical abuse, by an individual or a group, of a ‘weaker’ individual” (basketball coach) |
| Abuse | “Abuse by a person or group towards a person or group that creates a state of discomfort for the victim and can affect them psychologically with serious consequences” (swimming coach) “Abuse, by one person or group, of another who is believed to be inferior” (acrobatics coach) “Physical or psychological abuse” (indoor football coach) |
