Athletes' relationships to training: Validation of an assessment tool across female and male athletes

Reasons for exercise training are often adaptive (e.g., athletic achievement), but for some athletes, their relationship with training can include a maladaptive desire for weight loss, which can increase risk for eating-disorder pathology. Prior validation of the Athletes' Relationships to Training scale (ART) supported its validity among female athletes. The current study extended this work to compare psychometric properties of the ART among female and male athletes; we expected the measure to perform similarly across sexes.

We conducted confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in the full sample and measurement invariance tests separated by self-reported sex in young-adult athletes from three universities (N = 424, 44.3% male, M[SD]age = 18.9[1.3] years). Pearson correlations tested associations among ART scores with other psychological symptoms to evaluate construct validity, and t-tests evaluated mean group differences in ART scores between males and females.

The ART's four-factor structure replicated in the full sample, and in males and females separately with good fit. Results from multi-group CFA analyses supported measurement invariance between males and females. There was support for construct validity, such that overall correlations among the ART, maladaptive exercise measures, and eating-disorder pathology were higher relative to correlations with anxiety and depression. Compared to females, males scored significantly higher on the ART total and all subscale scores, with the exception of Body Dissatisfaction.

Results provided preliminary evidence that the ART can be used to assess maladaptive training behaviors among both male and female young-adult athletes, thereby informing interventions designed to improve exercise motivation.