Measuring optimal psychological states: Proposal of two brief versions to measure flow and clutch in athletes

Alejandro Sánchez Vara; José L Chamorro; Ruben Moreno Castellanos; Saul Alcaraz

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1066494

Measuring optimal psychological states: Proposal of two brief versions to measure flow and clutch in athletes

Front Psychol. 2023 Jan 20:14:1066494. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1066494. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Alejandro Sánchez Vara^{1

2}, José L Chamorro^{2

3}, Ruben Moreno Castellanos², Saul Alcaraz^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ School for Doctoral Studies and Research, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
² Faculty of Sports Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
³ Hum-878 Research Team, Department of Psychology, Health Research Centre, University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
⁴ Sport Research Institute UAB, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract

Background: The study of sports experiences with high levels of performance has led to the observation of two psychological states categorized as optimal, denominated flow and clutch. The objective of this study is to design and validate two brief scales version to measure flow and clutch.

Methods: Following the MIMO (Maximum Information, Minimum Discomfort) protocol, three studies are carried out: In Study 1, we developed the short versions of the questionnaires based on theory-driven and data-driven criteria; in Study 2, we used quantitative criteria to validate the short versions; and in Study 3, we checked the final version of each scale to observe their statistical validity and their relation to other variables.

Results: The new short flow scale is made up of seven items, while the clutch scale is made up of five items. Throughout the three studies, evidence is provided of the internal consistency, invariance of the measurement models and content validity, validity related to the responding process and validity in relation to other variables.

Conclusion: This study provides two short versions to evaluate flow and clutch, which will help to continue advancing in the study of optimal psychological states in sport.

Keywords: clutch; estados óptimos psicológicos; flow; optimal psychological states; scale validation; short versions; validación de cuestionario flow; versión corta.