Attachment Styles Within the Coach-Athlete Dyad: Preliminary Investigation and Assessment Development

Louise Davis, Sophia Jowett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)
93 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The present preliminary study aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of a new sport-specific self-report instrument designed to assess athletes’ and coaches’ attachment styles. The development and initial validation comprised three main phases. In Phase 1, a pool of items was generated based on pre-existing self-report attachment instruments, modified to reflect a coach and an athlete’s style of attachment. In Phase 2, the content validity of the items was assessed by a panel of experts. A final scale was developed and administered to 405 coaches and 298 athletes (N = 703 participants). In Phase 3, confirmatory factor analysis of the obtained data was conducted to determine the final items of the Coach-Athlete Attachment Scale (CAAS). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed acceptable goodness of fit indexes for a 3-first order factor model as well as a 2-first order factor model for both the athlete and the coach data, respectively. A secure attachment style positively predicted relationship satisfaction, while an insecure attachment style was a negative predictor of relationship satisfaction. The CAAS revealed initial psychometric properties of content, factorial, and predictive validity, as well as reliability.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)120-145
JournalJournal of Clinical Sport Psychology
Volume7
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2013

Keywords

  • attachment
  • avoidant
  • anxious
  • relationships
  • athlete
  • coach

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