The goal of the present study was to examine the prevalence of bullying and victimization in adolescent girl athletes. The participants in this study were 69 girls of ages 12-15 who were members of off-school competitive athletic clubs. Participants completed a series of written questionnaires detailing their athletic participation, aspects of their sport and school, and their participation as a bully or victim within their sport and school. Prevalence rates of bullying and victimization at school were two to three times higher for the female athletes when compared to average prevalence rates of a separate national study of female bullying. Bullying and victimization were more prevalent at school than at sports. We suggest that “girl culture”, learned aggression, and/or withdrawal from school may cause the high prevalence rates observed among the adolescent girl athletes in this study.

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