Development of athletic injury psychological acceptance scale

Area of Science:

• Sports Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Competitive sports culture can obscure athletes' psychological struggles with injuries.
• There is a need for validated tools to identify psychological problems in injured athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Athletic Injury Psychological Acceptance Scale (AIPAS).
• To create a screening tool for psychological issues in injured athletes.

Main Methods:

• Developed a provisional AIPAS based on interviews and expert review.
• Administered the AIPAS along with measures of rehabilitation dedication and time perspective.
• Conducted item analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability testing (Cronbach's alpha).

Main Results:

• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis identified two factors: "Self-motivation" and "Focus on the Present".
• The scale demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.81).
• Significant correlations with external measures confirmed criterion-related validity.

Conclusions:

• The Athletic Injury Psychological Acceptance Scale (AIPAS) is a reliable and valid instrument.
• AIPAS effectively screens for psychological acceptance of injuries in athletes.
• The scale comprises two distinct subscales: Self-motivation and Focus on the Present.