Validating Athletes’ Subjective Performance Scale: A Rasch Model Analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to validate the athletes’ subjective performance scale (ASPS) and examine its optimal categorization measuring Korean university athletes using the Rasch model. A six-item ASPS with ten response categories was administered to 201 Korean university athletes participating in team sport events. The Rash measurement program, Winsteps (version 4.6.2.1), was used to perform Rasch analysis. The results showed that the model was a good fit for the data. The Wright-Andrich map indicated ceiling and floor effects, as ASPS items were unable to measure individuals with logits beyond 3 or below -2.5. Furthermore, the reliability of item separation and person separation demonstrated acceptable confidence. Lastly, the findings indicated that the ASPS, which utilized a 10-category rating scale, was problematic due to disordered thresholds. The exploratory analysis revealed that both six and seven-category rating scales appeared to comply with the effective classification criteria, but further research is needed for confirmatory analysis. Previous research has explored the relationships between psychometric factors and subjective performance; however, this study offers valuable insights into optimal categorization and introduces an innovative approach to measuring athletes’ subjective performance. To assess subjective sport performance satisfaction, the authors propose employing a six-category rating scale, which this study found to be reliable and valid in relation to construct.