“Just shut out the world”: Bullied adolescents’ structured recreational and sports activities and their relationship to wellbeing and friendship

Although bullied adolescents' leisure activities and friendships may impact their wellbeing, the leisure environments of bullied adolescents has received limited attention in previous research. The aim of this study was to explore bullied adolescents' perspectives on their out-of-school time, with a special focus on structured recreational and sports activities and how these relate to friendships and wellbeing. Based on interviews with 20 Swedish adolescents who experienced bullying in lower secondary school, we used a constructivist grounded theory approach to guide the research, further informed by concepts from the social-ecological perspective and identity theory. The findings indicate that structured recreational and sports activities can serve as a temporary refuge from school bullying, providing a safe environment that promotes self-recovery and friendship development. However, if bullies are present in these activities, it can undermine the positive effects and may lead victims to quit.