Development and Validation of the Compliant and Principled Sportspersonship Scale

Abstract

Purpose: A new measure of sportspersonship, which differentiates between compliance and principled approaches, was developed and initially validated in 3 studies. Method: Study 1 developed items, assessed content validity, and proposed a model. Study 2 tested the factorial validity of the model on an independent sample. Study 3 further tested the factorial validity on another independent sample as well as the construct validity. Results: In Study 1, a 71-item questionnaire was developed. Exploratory factor analysis reduced the questionnaire to a 6-factor, 33-item scale explaining 47.70% of the variance. Study 2 tested this revised questionnaire in a series of confirmatory factor analyses, presenting a 24-item and 5-factor model with acceptable fit, χ²(242) = 455.9, comparative fit index = .93, Tucker-Lewis Index = .92, standardized root mean square residual = .05, root mean square error of approximation = .04. Study 3 provided some evidence to support the construct validity of the 24-item scale using theoretically associated measures. Conclusions: This series of studies provided some initial validity evidences of the Compliant and Principled Sportspersonship Scale.

Keywords::

• factor analysis
• moral behavior
• morality
• sportsmanship

Notes

¹ The rather awkward term sportspersonship is preferred over the traditional sportsmanship in an effort to reduce gender bias in language.