Sustainable behaviours of physical activity and sport practitioners – scale validation

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to analyse a new model to assess the sustainable behaviours, sustainable attitudes and sustainable knowledge on sport practitioners.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs a scale of 44 items divided into three different dimensions to analyse the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable development on 227 sport participants.FindingsThrough this study the authors have been able to obtain a reliable scale that allows us to analyse and the knowledge, attitudes and sustainable behaviours of physical and sports education practitioners.Research limitations/implicationsBoth psychometric properties of the initial scale and the differences between studies contexts may affect the results of the present analysis. Therefore, new studies are needed in order to analyse how sport physical activities influence sustainable behaviours among physical activity and sport practitioners.Practical implicationsIn this work the authors present a valid and reliable tool for the study of the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of physical activity and sport practitioners.Originality/valueRegarding the importance of sport in relation to sustainable development, this work is the first to adapt a scale to the context of practitioners of physical activity and sport in order to improve the understanding of how physical activity and sport affect sustainable behaviours, serving as a starting point for future research in sustainable development sports field.