Development of Athletic Injury Psychological Acceptance Scale

[Purpose] The world of competitive sports has its own unique subculture which at times works towards covering up psychological problems faced by athletes with injuries. The purpose of this study was to develop an “Athletic Injury Psychological Acceptance Scale (AIPAS)” to screen athletes for serious psychological problems resulting from injury. [Subjects] A total of 189 subjects responded to the survey, of which 168 (mean age= 19.93 years; average number of days unable to participate in sports= 71.84 days, SD = 88.01 days) valid responses were subjected to analysis. [Methods] A provisional version of the AIPAS was created from question items based on face-to-face subject interviews and content validity testing by specialists. In order to test criterion-related validity of the AIPAS, subjects were asked to complete indices that would serve as an external criterion. For this purpose, indices that measure athletic rehabilitation dedication and time perspective were designed. [Results] Item analysis of the provisional AIPAS was conducted to confirm the discrimination of each item. Exploratory factor analysis identified “Self-motivation” and “Focus on the Present” as two factors of the provisional scale. Confirmatory factor analysis supported these results. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the internal consistency. Since α=0.81, the reliability of the scale was confirmed. A significant correlation was found between AIPAS and external indices, indicating criterion-related validity. [Conclusion] AIPAS is a reliable and valid scale composed of two subscales.