The Continued Development of the Athletic Self-Appraisal Scale

The present study represents the continued development of the Athletic Self-Appraisal Scale (ASAS), formerly titled the General Sports Self-Efficacy Scale. Based on Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and the resulting suggestions for appropriate scale construction, the authors present a measure that highlights the interdependent role of self-efficacy sources, known as self-appraisal. This measure includes item content specifically adhering to athletics in the four domains of self-appraisal including past experience, verbal persuasion, vicarious learning, and physiological cues. A nationwide sample included 501 participants from all three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) divisions representing over half of the existing conferences therein. Student-athletes provided demographic information and responded to surveys detailing their athletic self-appraisal, general self-efficacy, athletic self-confidence, and locus of control. With regard to the psychometric properties, ASAS was found to be reliable and valid and factor analysis retained two factors (athletic success and athletic adversity). The results indicated significant ASAS score differences between athletes competing for different NCAA divisions, between different sports, between true team sports and true individual sports, and between those athletes who achieved athletic awards and those who did not. No significant differences were found between ASAS scores and gender, age, ethnicity, and educational level. Limitations to the present study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are also provided