International Journal of Sport, Exercise and Health Research 2020; 4(1): 12-15 ; DOI:10.31254/sportmed.4103
Testing the factor validity of the Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (REFS) in non-invasion sports officials
Ian Cunningham1 , Philip Sullivan2
1. Ontario Tech University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
2. Brock University, Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 21st February, 2020 / Accepted: 4th April, 2020
Officials occupy an essential role in sport, and one that is beginning to be recognized in the research literature. One growing area of research on officials is officiating efficacy, or refficacy. Previous research includes a conceptualization of the construct and an operational definition that has been supported with respect to factor structure and other psychometric properties. However, the samples that have supported the validity and reliability of the scale have reflected a narrow conceptualization of officiating; samples have been dominated by interactor officials in invasion sports, such as football and basketball. The current study was designed to assess the psychometric properties of the REFS with a sample of monitor and reactor officials. A sample of 174 officials from monitor sports such as wrestling, tennis and figure skating completed the REFS. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported Myers et al [1] four-factor model. The data also showed strong internal consistency and gender differences that are consistent with other research on efficacy in sport. These results show that the REFS is a valid and reliable measure for a heterogeneous and widely representative sample of sport officials. Research utilizing this measurement is encouraged in a variety of contexts and on a variety outcomes.
Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (REFS), Sports officials, Self-efficacy
