Validity and Reliability of the Sport Motivation Scale–II for Ethiopian Athletes

Introduction: This study focused on validating the Sport Motivation Scale II (SMS-II) in an Ethiopian context, grounded in Self-Determination Theory. Prior to this research, no validated version of the SMS-II existed for Ethiopian athletes despite its relevance in assessing sports-related motivation. Objective: The main goal was to translate and validate the SMS-II into Amharic to ensure its reliability and applicability among Ethiopian athletes. It was hypothesized that the Amharic version would maintain strong internal consistency and a valid factor structure similar to the original English version. Methodology: The English version of the SMS-II, which includes 18 items across six dimensions, was translated into Amharic by language experts. Data were collected from 321 team sport athletes (174 men and 147 women) with an average age of 23.48 years. Confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used to evaluate the instrument's validity and internal consistency. Results: The Amharic version of the SMS-II demonstrated acceptable model fit indices and high internal consistency across all subscales, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.816 to 0.865. These results indicate that the translated version is both reliable and valid for use in Ethiopia. Discussion: The findings align with previous studies that have validated the SMS-II in other languages and cultural settings. The Amharic version showed comparable or improved psychometric properties, suggesting it effectively captures the nuances of athlete motivation within the Ethiopian sports environment. Conclusions: The Amharic version of the SMS-II is a valid and reliable tool for measuring motivation among Ethiopian athletes. This instrument can support researchers and coaches in designing interventions tailored to improve athletic performance and psychological well-being. Future research should expand the validation to include individual sports and younger athletes.