Design, validation, and reliability of survey to measure female athlete triad knowledge among coaches

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design and to test the validity and reliability of an instrument to evaluate coaches' knowledge about the female athlete triad syndrome and their confidence in this knowledge. The instrument collects information regarding: knowledge of the syndrome, components, prevention and intervention; confidence of the coaches in their answers; and coach's characteristics (gender, degree held, years of experience in coaching females, continuing education participation specific to the syndrome and its components, and sport coached). The process of designing the questionnaire and testing the validity and reliability of it was done in four phases: a) design and development of the instrument, b) content validity, c) instrument reliability, and d) concurrent validity. The results show that the instrument is suitable for measuring coaches' female athlete triad knowledge. The instrument can contribute to assessing the coaches' knowledge level in relation to this topic.

Knowledge of the Female Athlete Triad and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport Among Female Cross-Country Athletes and Support Staff

“…Elements of the present survey were adapted from a previous survey which sought to characterize Triad knowledge . This survey was tested for content validity, instrument reliability, and concurrent validity 15 . In the current survey, the previous survey was expanded to include questions specific to RED-S.…”

“…Following content validation, the survey was tested for test-retest reliability via internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha, with four non-collegiate female cross-country athletes and two non-collegiate coaches of female cross-country athletes. Though our reliability participation sample is low, the previous survey was tested for reliability among 12 collegiate coaches 15 . ATs were recruited for current survey reliability testing.…”

“…The impact score model was adapted from the scoring previously reported, in which a factored, composite score of impact was reported 15 . The knowledge and confidence scores were combined to create a total impact score (Q16-Q52b).…”