Development and Validation of the Japanese Version of the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire-Coach

Interpersonal violence committed by sports coaches has been studied and discussed across multiple subject areas. However, conceptual and methodological issues remain in this area of research in Japan and detailed quantification of victimization frequency is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Japanese version of the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire-Coach (VTAQ-Coach-J), which measures a wide range of interpersonal violence victimization by coaches. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) identified the four-factor structure for the VTAQ-Coach-J: “physical violence,” “psychological violence and neglect (coercion-oriented),” “psychological violence and neglect (control-oriented),” and “sexual violence.” All subscales demonstrated sufficient internal consistency. Examined in relation to validity indices, the VTAQ-Coach-J showed robust positive partial correlations with similar concepts of coach harassment and sexual harassment, as well as with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) directly attributable to victimization. Positive partial correlations with disturbance of self-organization (DSO), psychological and physical stress reactions, and general depressive reactions differed across subscales of the VTAQ-Coach-J. This study provided evidence to validate the VTAQ-Coach-J in terms of content, structure, generalizability, and external dimensions. Based on these findings, basic and applied studies of the VTAQ-Coach-J are expected in the future, including the development of a cross-national study on interpersonal violence in sports.