Violence, exclusion and the role of children and adolescents moral features in the sport domain: The save project

Abstract

The prevention of violence and exclusion in the sport domain is one of the principal priorities of the European Union Programs. Sport Against Violence and Exclusion (SAVE) Project is an initiative co-founded by the Erasmus Plus Programme of the European Commission, whose aim is to train coach to recognize and manage violent and exclusion episodes in the sport situation. According to the psychological literature, one of the predictors of aggressiveness and antisocial tendencies is morality. In particular, for what concerns children, a less mature moral reasoning is associated to a greater tendency to aggress, while for adolescents, the moral atmosphere, in particular, the perception of the coach norms, seems to have the greatest influence on their behavior. For this reason, an in-depth training for coaches has been developed within SAVE Project. Furthermore, a scientific research involving seven countries has been conducted. The current Editorial Letter shows one year progress of SAVE Project . This and other initiatives, if supported by scientific community, could be an inspiration for broader policy reform.