Development of the assessment of recovery activities for athletes

ABSTRACT

To optimise the performance and health of elite athletes, there has been an increase in the development of athlete monitoring systems to measure if athletes perceive themselves to be adequately recovered. While these monitoring systems have been instrumental in describing athlete recovery states, little research has been conducted to establish why and how athletes engage in recovery behaviours or to identify barriers that prevent athletes from initiating the recovery process. As such, the purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an assessment that will allow practitioners and researchers to measure and monitor the recovery activities an athlete engages in to enhance performance and health. This purpose was achieved through two studies. In Study 1, physical, psychological, and social recovery activity items were generated and content evaluated first by experts (N = 3) and second by elite athletes (N = 8). Results of Study 1 yielded the retention of 71 items. In Study 2, the recovery activity items were distributed to elite athletes (N = 265) and the factor structure, convergent validity, and reliability were tested. Results of Study 2 revealed a 56-item, 10-factor model with support for convergent validity and reliability. Overall, the Assessment of Recovery Activities for Athletes (ARAA) provides practitioners and researchers with a valid and reliable instrument from which to monitor recovery activities engaged in by elite athletes.

KEYWORDS:

• Rest
• sport psychology
• sport science
• scale construction
• measure validation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the time and expertise provided by the expert reviewers and elite athletes who participated in Study 1, as well as the athletes, coaches, and colleagues who dedicated their time to participate in or recruit for Study 2.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data associated with this manuscript are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Notes

1 Corresponding author may be contacted for a comprehensive literature review on each of the 11 recovery activities.