Student-Athletes' Academic and Athletic Motivation Scale (SAAMS) for adolescents in secondary school: development, evaluation, and psychometric properties

Previous dual-career (DC) research focused on measuring student-athletes' motivation in the academic and athletic contexts. Existing measurement instruments are insufficient for adolescent student-athletes and countries with independent education and sport systems. The Student-Athletes' Academic and Athletic Motivation Scale (SAAMS) was developed based on the expectancy-value framework (EVF) with its dimensions ability beliefs, expectations, importance, interest, usefulness, and cost. The development of the SAAMS followed three phases: (1) item development, (2) scale development, and (3) scale evaluation. The initial version was tested with 346 student-athletes (mean age = 17.3 years; females = 47.7%). A revision phase resulted in a final SAAMS tested with 497 student-athletes (mean age = 17.0 years; females = 42.9%). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted for the evaluation. Several models were tested with the best results for a six-factor model as assumed by the EVF. The SAAMS is suitable for an extensive range of research and practical applications.