Bullying represents a common form of discrimination that consists in repeatedly targeting weaker individuals due to either their interindividual characteristics or because of group-based prejudice (Mulvey et al., 2018). This phenomenon is mainly observed during late childhood and adolescence, it often occurs in schools (Olweus, 1986), or in places such as playgrounds, the neighborhood or the Internet. Recently, there has been a growing interest in research on bullying in sport activities (e.g., Vveinhardt & Fominiene, 2020a). Bullying in sport has detrimental consequences for the physical, mental, and social health of young athletes (Parent & Fortier, 2018), and it may thus weaken the benefits for wellbeing that are usually associated with playing sports. Therefore, a better understanding of bullying in sport, and especially of protective factors against bullying, is a priority for research. PASSION aims precisely to increase the scientific knowledge of the protective factors against bullying in sports, with particular attention to the social determinants of a safe and bullying-free sport environment. Indeed, bullying is agreed to be a social phenomenon, which is grounded in interpersonal and intragroup social relationships. Thus, these relationships represent a major force that can either foster or fight it. For instance, the social climate promoted by the coach, parents, or teammates (e.g., the idea that progress matters more than outcome vs the idea that anything is allowed in order to get the result) might sustain a culture in which harassing children who do not match the expected outcomes is justified. Also intragroup (or group-based processes) play a key role in bullying. For instance, the prevalence of pro- vs anti-bullying social norms may remarkably affect the behaviour of young athletes. Through a series of cross-sectional and experimental field studies, we aim to identify the social characteristics of sports environments that reduce the risk of bullying and increase the well-being of athletes. Bullying and its adverse consequences especially affect youth in late childhood and early adolescence. And it is precisely in relation to these stages of development that it is most important to identify protective factors which can preserve physical and mental health. Moreover, more than 50% of the
Italian children and adolescents practice sports (ISTAT, 2019) and sport itself can be an engaging environment where positive values can be shared. With these premises in mind, PASSION will examine the protective social characteristics of sport environments (namely, relational and group-based processes) and their association with physical, mental and social health indicators in late childhood (8-10 years) and early adolescence (11-13 years).