Psychometric validation and gender invariance of the Arabic Athlete Burnout Questionnaire among Tunisian handball players

Athlete burnout has been a real problem in the sport context. It has been defined as a syndrome that contains three dimensions: emotional and physical exhaustion, sport devaluation, and reduced sense of accomplishment. Thus, to assess burnout among Arab athletes, the need for a validated version of a suitable scale seems essential. The aim of this study was to validate an Arabic version of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) and to assess its construct validity, reliability, and gender invariance. Following a rigorous cross-cultural adaptation process, 500 Tunisian handball players from 37 teams (298 males and 202 females) with ages ranging from 18 to 26 years (M = 22.67, SD = 3.64) participated in this study. The athletes were asked to fill in basic sociodemographic information and the Arabic version of the ABQ. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to assess the factorial structure, reliability, sensitivity, and validity of the Arabic ABQ. The CFA revealed excellent fit indices (x2(46) = 147.152; x2/df = 1.98; p < 0.05; CFI = 0.984, TLI = 0.978, AGFI = 0.904, RMSEA = 0.057, GFI = 0.941) for the three-factor solution. Cronbach’s alpha showed high internal consistency for all three dimensions (Physical and Emotional Exhaustion (PEE) = 0.916; Devaluation of Sports Practice (DSP) = 0.982; Reduced Sense of Achievement (RSA) = 0.909). The results of the measurement invariance analysis of the A-ABQ scale demonstrated robust invariance between male and female athletes. The results of the Arabic version of the athlete burnout questionnaire proved that the scale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing burnout among Tunisian handball players, filling a critical gap in sport psychology resources for Arabic-speaking populations.