Athletic justice: Scale development and validation

The current study aimed to create a reliable and valid scale to measure athletes' perception of fairness regarding coaches' behaviors. The study utilized a scale development process, including three steps: (a) item generation, (b) scale development, and (c) scale evaluation. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized to generate items and achieve content validity. In developing the AJ scale, elite athletes from 29 different sports in Saudi Arabia were recruited for two rounds of data collection. The first data set (n = 279) was collected using an initial 35-item AJ scale developed from existing justice scales and interviews with elite athletes, while the second data collection (n = 503) was performed using a refined 12-item scale based on the analysis of the first data set. The results of ESEM showed an appropriate model fit for the scale with 12 items including four dimensions. In addition, the criterion validity was supported as each dimension of AJ was positively associated with athlete satisfaction. The newly developed AJ scale will help researchers measure perceived fairness toward coaches' behaviors based on the unique culture, climate, and environment that exists in the context of sports and explore the relationships between AJ and important attitudinal and behavioral outcomes that impact team performance.