Development and validity of a preliminary version of the Emotional Competence Scale in sports (ECE-D)

Abstract

The relevant role of emotions in competitive contexts has been widely supported in the sport psychology literature. The aim of this study was to create a valid measure of emotional development in sports. The sample is composed by 367 sportsmen/women belonging to different sporting disciplines. Analyses were performed about the antecedents and the psychometric properties of the Emotional Development Scale (Schutte, Malouff, Hall, Haggerty, Cooper, Golden & Dornhein, 1998). Results showed that, in general terms, the initially proposed four factor model was supported. Implications for considering the improvement of the applicability questionnaire are advanced. KEY WORDS: Emotions, empathy, self-control, physical activity, sports, emotional competence