A - 47 Psychometric Development of the Youth Football Player Self Efficacy (FSE) Scale

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the initial psychometrics of a new scale assessing player self-efficacy for learning and applying head-protective skills during football contact, using Bandura’s social cognitive theory of behavior change. Method 272 high school football players participating in the Hawaii Helmetless Tackling Technique (HuTT-808) completed the 52-item FSE scale (0–100 scale) via REDCap. Mean age = 15.7 (1.2); Level: 66.9% Varsity, 33.1% JV; Playing years <2 years (28.5%) to >8 years (8.8%); 17% Asian, 4% Black, 2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5 Native American, 35.5% Pacific Islander, 4.5% White, 4.5% Other. Analyses included principal factor analysis (PFA) of the 34 primary items with oblique rotation, internal consistency reliability, and examination of FSE relationship to player characteristics (age, playing/coaching experience). Results PFA resulted in 4 factors (64% variance explained): Good Tackle/Block Contact Skill (19 items), Aggressive Playing Style (6), Following Safety Rules (3), and Prosocial Play Behaviors (6) with moderate correlation between subscales (0.33–0.43). Internal consistency reliability was very strong for the scales (r = 0.83–0.98). Small but significant relationships were found with FSE and age (0.14–0.17), and playing experience (0.13–0.22) with greater relationship with coaching/learning opportunity (0.36–0.56). Conclusions The Football Self-Efficacy scale demonstrates evidence of a meaningful 4-factor structure with strong scale internal consistency reliability and relationships with playing and coaching learning opportunities. These findings add to the previous work demonstrating the relationship between FSE and head impact exposure. The psychometric strength of the instrument will enable its meaningful use in efforts to further understand player behavior in head-safe methods of contact in football.