DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AN INSTRUME NT TO MEASURE INTERPERSONALRELATIONSHIPS IN SPORTS - THE ELLE-DES-RELATIONS-INTERPERSONNELLES-DANS-LE-SPORT

The metrological properties of a new instrument designed to measure th e perceived quality of interpersonal relations in sport, the Echelle d es Relations Interpersonnelles dans le Sport (ERIS), are examined with in two studies. This scale measures the athletes' perceived quality of his or her relationships with teammates, coach, opponents, referees, and spectators. In the first study, 145 hockey players (aged from 15 t o 17 years) completed the ERIS, and a factorial analysis revealed the presence of a 5-factor structure with 4 items loading on each factor a nd explaining 81.6% of the variance. The Cronbach alpha values for the se dimensions were good (ranging from .90 to .96). The correlations be tween the ERIS's 5 subscales ranged from low to moderate (from -.08 to .54) suggesting that while related these subscales ave relatively dis tinct. In addition, the 5 subscales were related as predicted, to moti vation, satisfaction and sportsmanship in hockey. thereby providing pr eliminary support for the convergent and differential validity of the instrument. Results from the second study reaffirmed the ERIS's high i nternal consistency, and this among individuals (n = 68) practicing a recreative sport (i.e., volley-ball). Additional support for the ERIS' s convergent and differential validity was also found with correlation s between the instrument's subscales and group cohesion dimensions. It thus appears that the ERIS is valid and reliable, and ready to be use d in sport research. In this respect future research directions are of fered.