The factor structure and reliability of the short form of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire in a Finnish adolescent athlete sample

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Finnish version of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire-S (PSDQ-S) among a group (n = 521) of Finnish adolescent male (n = 238) and female (n = 283) athletes. Confirmatory factor analysis, using a robust weighted least squares estimator, showed good fit to the data. The invariance of the factor structure across gender and age groups was tested for configural, metric, and scalar invariance. The results yielded strong measurement invariance for gender and age. The reliability estimates supported an 11-factor solution for total sample, gender, and age, excluding the Physical Activity subscale. Accordingly, the original 11-factor solution received support with Finnish adolescent athletes.