Aesthetic performance cultures: perfectionistic, abusive, injurious?

Numerous abuse scandals around the world have shaken dance and aesthetic sports such as gymnastics and figure skating in recent years. Although some experts argue that performers in such aesthetic activities may be particularly vulnerable to abuse, little research has focused on this particular population.

In the present project our purpose is to enhance knowledge of emotional abuse in aesthetic sports and dance. Emotional abuse is deliberate behaviours, without physical contact, that can be damaging. Examples include shouting, threatening, and humiliating. We will study such transgressions in terms of the particular cultures within which they occur, their potential overlap with perfectionistic climates, and whether they may enhance the likelihood that performers train and perform in spite of injuries or other physical complaints.

Our aims are:
1) To explore high-level performers' perceptions and experiences of what constitutes aesthetic sport/dance culture
2) To enhance understanding of the connection, and potential overlap, between abuse and perfectionistic climates
3) To examine whether performers who perceive their climates as more perfectionistic and/or report more frequent emotional abuse are more likely to report training and performing with injuries or other physical complaints.

Vi avser undersöka emotionella övergrepp inom estetiska prestationskulturer. Till projektet kommer vi att rekrytera deltagare på hög nivå från estetiska aktiviteter (t ex gymnastik, konståkning, balett) till intervjuer och enkäter. I intervjustudien utforskar vi uppfattningar om och erfarenheter av vad som karaktäriserar estetiska prestationskulturer och i vilken mån de upplevs främja eller förebygga övergrepp. I enkätstudien utforskar vi eventuella samband mellan perfektionistiska miljöer och förekomsten av emotionella övergrepp, samt om dessa aspekter gör det mera sannolikt att utövare tränar och tävlar även där de är skadade eller har andra fysiska problem. Genom sådan ökad kunskap bidrar vi till framtida möjligheter att främja välmående och hållbarhet i estetiska prestationskulturer.