Development and initial validation of the perceived instrumental effects of violence in sport scale

Sylvie Parent; Stephanie Radziszewski; Allyson Gillard; Ariane Bélanger-Gravel; Marie-Hélène Gagné; Elisabeth St-Pierre; Tine Vertommen; Andrea Woodburn

doi:10.3389/fspor.2024.1355958

Development and initial validation of the perceived instrumental effects of violence in sport scale

Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Feb 27:6:1355958. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1355958. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Sylvie Parent^{1

2

3

4

5}, Stephanie Radziszewski^{1

2

4

5}, Allyson Gillard^{1

2

4

5}, Ariane Bélanger-Gravel⁶, Marie-Hélène Gagné⁷, Elisabeth St-Pierre¹, Tine Vertommen^{1

3

4

8

9}, Andrea Woodburn^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Research Chair in Security and Integrity in Sport, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
² Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
³ International Research Network on Violence and Integrity in Sport (IRNOVIS), Antwerp, Belgium.
⁴ Interdisciplinary Research Center on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse (CRIPCAS), Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁵ Équipe Violence Sexuelle et Santé (ÉVISSA), Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Department of Information and Communication, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
⁷ School of Psychology, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
⁸ Safe Sport Lab, Center of Expertise Care and Well-Being, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Antwerp, Belgium.
⁹ Department of Physical Education, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Abstract

Introduction: A growing body of research is looking into risk factors for interpersonal violence (IV) in sport. This research suggests the existence of several important risk factors, especially organizational and social factors. One of these factors is the beliefs regarding instrumental effects of violence. Coaches may want to drive performance, deter failure, test resilience and commitment, develop toughness, assure interpersonal control, and promote internal competition. In sum, available evidence suggests the risk of IV increases when coaches believe in the effectiveness of strategies involving IV to enhance athlete performance or perceive external approval for these practices.

Methods: The studies presented in this article seeks to develop and validate the Perceived Instrumental Effects of Violence in Sport (PIEVS) Scale in order to measure those beliefs in coaches. In study 1, item generation, expert consultation, cognitive interviews, pilot test and item reduction phases led to 25 items for the PIEVS around six dimensions. In study 2, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with 690 coaches in order to determine the PIEVS factorial structure and the convergent and divergent validity of the scale was tested (long and short form).

Results: Our results suggested a one-factor solution for the PIEVS (25 items). This one-factor model provided an excellent fit to the data and a very good internal consistency. The PIEVS and empowering motivational climate were negatively correlated, which supported divergent validity as expected. The PIEVS was positively correlated with the disempowering motivational climate and with sport ethic norms, which supported convergent validity as expected.

Discussion: These findings provide preliminary evidence for the appropriateness of the PIEVS Scale to measure perceived instrumental effects of violence in coaches.

Keywords: beliefs; maltreatment; scale; sport; validation; violence.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.