Jürg Schmid

This study examined the psychometric properties of a German translation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scales—Third Generation (AIMS-3G). We assessed its factor structure, measurement invariance across demographic and sport-related variables, associations with related constructs and external criteria, and internal consistency. Data from 285 young adults ( M _age = 23.06 years; SD = 3.49; 43.9% female, 55.8% male, 0.4% other) were analyzed. Exploratory structural equation modeling supported a five-factor model (Athletic Identity, Prominence, Self-Worth Contingency, Self-Presentation, Social Reinforcement). (Partial) strict measurement invariance was demonstrated across gender, sport context (i.e., organized vs. independent), and participation in sport competitions. Associations with related constructs and external criteria largely aligned with expectations. All factors showed at least acceptable internal consistency, with intercorrelations suggesting related but distinct dimensions of athletic identity. Additional model tests further clarify the understandingof the construct. Overall, we propose the German-language version AIMS-3G as a psychometrically sound instrument for investigating research questions on athletic identity and testing more specific hypotheses regarding its properties and processes.

Successful athletic careers are rarely short-term undertakings; rather, they require sustained dedication and effort over extended periods of time. For example, former Olympic athletes from Switzer...

University students participating in sport must balance the demands of academics and sport to succeed in both domains. However, a reliable and valid tool for measuring academic and athletic identities in German-speaking populations has been lacking. The purpose of this study was to translate the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS; Yukhymenko-Lescroart, 2014, Student and Athletes? Development of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS). Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology ) into German (AAIS-DE) and evaluate its construct validity and reliability. Participants were 281 students participating in sport from a German-speaking university in Switzerland ( M _age = 23.1 years). Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling supported the two-factor structure of the AAIS-DE, with all factor loadings being significant. Reliability estimates were .88 for academic identity and .89 for athletic identity. The two factors, academic and athletic identities, showed a moderate positive correlation. Using established German-language measures, academic identity correlated positively with academic self-concept, while athletic identity correlated positively with physical self-concept, as expected. Finally, measurement invariance was supported across gender and organized sport participation, indicating that the AAIS-DE measured academic and athletic identities equivalently across these groups. Overall, the results supported the reliability and validity of the AAIS-DE, confirming its usefulness for assessing academic identity and athletic identity among German-speaking university students and athletes.

Introduction: Grassroots sport clubs in Switzerland depend heavily on volunteers but face persistent recruitment challenges. Parents constitute a crucial yet time-limited volunteer pool linked to their children’s participation (Trussell, 2016). This study examines which individual and organizational factors predict parents’ entry into volunteering in sports clubs. Methods: Using survey data from the Swiss Football Association’s “Quality Club” program, we analyzed 2,913 parents nested in 64 sport clubs from the German- and French-speaking regions of Switzerland. Parental voluntary engagement (PVE) was modeled as a binary outcome in multilevel analyses with Level-1 (individual) and Level-2 (club) predictors. Level-1 variables were centered within clusters; Level-2 variables were grand-mean centered. Single imputation using predictive mean matching addressed missing data. A null model indicated that 12% of variance in PVE lay between clubs (ICC). Results: At the individual level, being a father (β = 0.14, p < .001), being personally active in a club sport (β = 0.17, p < .001), stronger club-related community interest (helping with club tasks, taking part in decision processes) (β = 0.10, p < .001), higher education (β = 0.05, p < .001), slightly older age (β = 0.004, p < .001), and social-emotional attachment (feeling proud, connected, comfortable; attending events; discussing club matters; β = 0.02, p = .04) predicted higher PVE; income, workload, and satisfaction with club work were non-significant. At the organizational level, large membership clubs (in terms of member size) showed lower PVE (β = −0.0003, p = .01). Language-region differences also emerged: overall PVE was lower in German- than in French-speaking clubs, and the association between club-related community interest and PVE was stronger in German-speaking clubs (cross-level interaction β = 0.03, p = .04). The final model yielded marginal R² around .15, indicating meaningful explanatory power of fixed effects. Discussion and Conclusion: The results showed that both membership-related and club-related factors are important predictors of PVE, consequently, parental volunteer management is to be considered as a cross-level task. The significant factors identified at level 1 and 2 provide indications for effectively recruiting and retaining parents. In doing so, effective parental engagement promotes establishing a intergenerational volunteer culture in grassroots sport clubs (Frenger et al., 2019) and, in turn, mitigates recruitment difficulties. References Frenger, M., Emrich, E. & Pierdzioch., P. (2019). Vererbtes Ehrenamt? Überlegungen zur Heredität ehrenamtlichen Engagements in Sportvereinen. In J. Königstorfer (Hrsg.), Innovationsökonomie und -management im Sport (S. 207-221). Hofmann. Trussell, D. E. (2016). Young people's perspectives of parent volunteerism in community youth sport. Sport Management Review, 19(3), 332-342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2015.09.001

This study presents and psychometrically evaluates a German-language 5-item scale designed to assess satisfaction with practising a sport: the Sport Satisfaction Scale (SSS; Sportzufriedenheitsskala, SZS). It is an adaptation of an existing instrument measuring domain-specific self-satisfaction to the sport context. We analysed the dimensionality of the scale, assessed its internal consistency, tested measurement invariance across a range of demographic and sport-related variables, and explored associations with related psychological constructs and external criteria. The sample comprised 285 young adults (Mage = 23.06 years, SD = 3.49; 43.9% female, 55.8% male, 0.4% other). The analyses supported the hypothesised one-factor structure of the SSS and revealed satisfactory internal consistency (ω = .80). Measurement invariance analyses provided evidence for weak, (partial) strong, and (partial) strict invariance across gender, participation in organised sport, and participation in competitive sport. There was no indication of monotonic differential item functioning with respect to age and weekly training volume. Finally, the findings aligned with theoretical expectations in that sport satisfaction correlated positively with several dimensions of passion, physical self-concept, and athletic identity. In conclusion, the SSS demonstrates sound psychometric properties, supporting its use as an economic and valid research tool in sport and exercise settings.

This study advances knowledge on what constitutes a 'good' talent development environment for career outcomes, by examining the combined influence of the parent-coach-system from a relational perspective and a person-oriented methodology. We followed 105 Swiss elite youth football players, who completed validated questionnaires at the U13 (2011) and the U14 level (2012) to assess the perceived environment (parent behaviour: Praise and Understanding, Directive Behaviour, Pressure; coach behaviour: Social Support, Positive Feedback, Democratic Behaviour). Their adult professional football level was assessed in 2023. Cluster analysis revealed four stable types of athletes across both time points. Two significant transitions emerged: the athlete type who perceived low levels across all variables had a lower probability of turning professional, whereas the athlete type characterised by parental praise and understanding combined with directive behaviour and some pressure, alongside low positive feedback and social support but involvement in decision-making had a higher probability of reaching the professional level. These findings underscore the importance of viewing the parent - coach system as an interconnected whole. They reveal compensation (e.g. stable parental praise and understanding buffering limited coach positive feedback) and complementation mechanisms (e.g. directive parental behaviours paired with democratic coaching) shaping athletes' long-term career outcomes.

Scanning is an important perceptual skill that enables football players to gather information about opponents, teammates and the environment in real-time. This study investigated scanning before and during ball possession and its effect on the success of the subsequent action in U19 female footballers. Sixty-one elite and grassroots players (age: 16.7 +/- 1.4) were recruited and analysed during 4v4 small-sided games. A total of 2010 game situations were video recorded for subsequent manual tagging. Multilevel logistic regression models revealed that elite players performed significantly more scans prior to first ball contact than their grassroots counterparts, but the number of scans performed during ball possession did not differ between competition levels. Furthermore, scans before and during ball possession positively influenced player's performance, whereas opponent pressure negatively influenced the success of subsequent actions, regardless of competition level. Differentiating between various subsequent actions revealed that scans before ball possession had a positive effect on the success of dribblings and passes, whereas scans during ball possession only had a positive effect on dribblings. Our results underline the importance of scanning in youth female football. These findings should be considered by coaches in the long-term development of players to increase the level of performance at elite age.