Leadership beliefs and practices among collegiate student-athletes: Development of the athlete peer leader self-efficacy instrument

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2013-08

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable measure of peer leader self-efficacy in collegiate athletes. The second purpose was to advance the understanding of self-efficacy in peer leaders in order to develop stronger leadership training programs that can enhance weaknesses in peer leader self-efficacy. Participants were male and female U.S. college varsity athletes over the age of 18 from both independent and interdependent teams who had been a member of their current college team for a minimum of three months. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, as well as the Athlete Peer Leader Self-Efficacy Inventory (APLSEI), a 57-item measure created by the author to assess peer leader self-efficacy among collegiate athletes. Following data screening, a principal axis exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with promax rotation was conducted to analyze the APLSEI. The finished solution resulted in a factor structure similar to the initial structure that was developed, comprised of eight subscales that retained 41 of the original items. Cronbach’s alphas were calculated for each subscale to assess reliability. Scores on seven of the eight subscales had good internal consistency; however one subscale was omitted from subsequent analyses due to the low internal consistency (i.e., Cronbach’s Alpha below .70). Finally, construct validity was evaluated by conducting a correlational analysis to determine the relationship between scores on the APLSEI and the Leadership Self-Efficacy Scale (LSE) and leader performance, as measured by the Peer Sport Leadership Behavior Inventory (PSBLI) and Peer Sport Leadership Behavior Inventory – Revised (PSBLIR). There was no significant relationship between any of the APLSEI subscales and PSLBIR subscales. However, there was a significant relationship between the APLSEI subscales and the three LSE subscales, and also between the APLSEI subscales and the majority of PSLBI subscales, suggesting the APLSEI does have validity.

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Keywords

College athletes, Self-efficacy, Peer leadership, Instrument development

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