How to measure compassion in coaches? The validation of a new scale to assess the compassion coaches’ experience towards their athletes

• Main Author: Oliveira, Sara
• Publication Date: 2022
• Other Authors: Cunha, Marina, Rosado, António, Mexia, Mónica, Manuel, Joana, Ferreira, Cláudia Rute Carlos
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/115348; https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2022.2161001
• topic: Coaching; Compassion; Confirmatory factor analysis; Cross-validation; Sport

The current study aimed to validate The Compassionate Coach Scale-Coaches Version (CCS-CV) that assesses the compassion coaches’ experience towards their athletes. Two independent samples of coaches completed self-reported measures. The calibration sample (N = 196) was used to test the structure of the CCS-CV through a confirmatory factor analysis, and the validation sample (N = 287) was used to confirm its structure, through crossvalidation, and examine aspects of its validity. One higher-order factor with two lower-order factors presented an adequate fit to the data. CCS-CV demonstrated high internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, and external validity. CCS-CV is a reliable measure that allows the assessment of the compassion coaches’ experience towards their athletes and seems to be a significant contribution for practical and research fields in sports context. The present study contributes to the availability of a new instrument that allows an assessment of qualities that could be beneficial to coaches and their athletes.