Validation of the French Version of the Scale for Measuring Athletic Identity among French Student Athletes

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to examine the validity of a French version of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) with a sample of French varsity athletes according to different characteristics such as age, gender and types of sports activities practiced. To this end, 445 sports students answered a questionnaire measuring the degree of Likert-type sports identity on a 7-point scale. The sample included 272 men and 173 women with an average age of 21 years. Validation of the factor structure and internal consistency was tested by performing confirmatory factor analyzes and calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient on the four different models most proposed in the literature. The results related to the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the four AIMS models tested in this study are not appropriate for the French context. On the other hand, they made it possible to identify a measurement model composed of two factors; identities and exclusivity. For the two factors, no significant difference appeared between the subgroups of age, sex and the types of sports activities practiced. Therefore, the two-factor model identified in this research stands out from the already existing models. To further test its robustness, it would therefore be desirable to test it in socio-cultural contexts close to that of France.