Decision-specific reinvestment scale: An exploration of its construct validity, and association with stress and coping appraisals

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Highlights

  • French validation of the Decision and Movement Specific Reinvestment scales.

  • Intuitive athletes have a lower tendency to decision reinvestment.

  • Low decision reinvesters rate their subjective performance to be higher.

  • Low decision reinvesters rate their stressor controllability to be higher.

  • Low decision reinvesters rate their coping effectiveness to be higher.

Abstract

Objective

This research project aimed to explore the construct validity of the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale (DSRS); more specifically, its links with stress and coping appraisals.

Design

Study 1 validated the DSRS and the Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) to the French language, in order to examine the construct validity of the DSRS using the MSRS, the Preference for Intuition and Deliberation (PID) inventory and the Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire (MDMQ). In addition, sex differences in reinvestment were investigated. Study 2 examined stress and coping appraisals of high and low reinvesters.

Method

In study 1, 379 athletes completed the DSRS, MSRS, PID, and MDMQ. In study 2, 100 handball players, classified as low and high reinvesters, completed surveys aimed to assess stressor intensity, stressor perceived controllability, coping effectiveness, subjective performance and coping strategies with the Coping Inventory for Competitive Sport over three games.

Results

In study 1, we found that intuitive athletes scored lower on the DSRS in comparison to deliberative athletes, whilst no difference was found for the MSRS. Convergent and discriminant validity was illustrated with the subscales of the MDMQ. No sex differences were found regarding reinvestment. In study 2, findings showed that low reinvesters scored higher than high reinvesters in terms of stressor perceived controllability, coping effectiveness and subjective performance.

Discussion

In addition to confirmation of construct validity, these findings strengthen our understanding of how high decision reinvesters perceive a pressured situation. Key applications are derived from our findings informing coaches and athletes in offsetting the negative effects of reinvestment on sport performance.

Section snippets

Study 1

In order to explore the construct validity of the DSRS, study 1 aimed to investigate the convergent and discriminant validity of the DSRS using the MSRS, the Preference for Intuition and Deliberation inventory (PID; Betsch, 2004) and the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ; Mann, Burnett, Radford, & Ford, 1997). A secondary aim was to investigate whether sex differences should be expected regarding reinvestment.

The MSRS contains two factors: conscious motor processing, which reflects

Participants

A sample of 378 sport sciences students was involved in the study (286 men and 92 women; Mage = 19.06, age range = 18–24 years). They were participating in a range of 19 sports (i.e., 13 individual sports, 6 team sports), and were involved in sport practice for a mean of 8.30 years (SD = 4.29, range = 1–16 years).

Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale (DSRS, Kinrade, Jackson, & Ashford, 2010; Kinrade, Jackson, Ashford, et al., 2010)

The 13 items of the DSRS (details concerning the French translation are available in the Procedure section) are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (“not characteristic”) to

CFA DSRS

The first test of the model yielded the following results: χ2 (64) = 241.6, SRMR = .072, RMSEA = .087, CFI = .89, and TLI = .86. The higher Modification Index (MI) suggested by AMOS is the adding of a covariance between the error variance of item 9 and item 10, MI = 70.146. This change results in the following model fit: χ2 (63) = 163, SRMR = .065, RMSEA = .07, CFI = .94, and TLI = .92. The next MI suggested is to move item 6 “J'ai parfois l'impression que je réfléchis trop à la manière dont je

Discussion

Following validation of the DSRS and the MSRS to the French language, the construct validity of the DSRS was examined using the MSRS and two external scales, the PID and the MDMQ. Sex differences regarding the DSRS and the MSRS were also investigated.

The CFAs results indicated that it was possible to confirm the original two-factor structure of the MSRS and DSRS according to Hu and Bentler's criteria (1999). Some modifications were taken into account in order to improve the model fit, such as

Study 2

It is acknowledged that decision reinvestment and performance breakdown under pressure are linked (Kinrade, Jackson, Ashford, et al., 2010). However, little is known about how individuals perceive this pressure or how they cope with it.

Stress is generally conceptualized as a unidimensional concept that represents the degree of external pressure and disturbed reaction associated with psychophysiological arousal (Lazarus, 2000). It is thought to be an underlying mechanism for many emotions, both

Participants

Two hundred forty-three handball regional players (138 men, 105 women) were initially screened to participate. In addition to the DSRS, several other questionnaires (e.g. personality, emotional intelligence, etc) were used to help blind participants regarding the basis of selection. A sample of 100 players (50 men, 50 women), were then categorized as low reinvesters (LR) and high reinvesters (HR), based on the norms established with the French validation realized with athletes in study 1 using

Relationship between stress and coping appraisals

Stressor intensity is significantly negatively related to stressor perceived controllability (r = −.24, p = .021) and to coping effectiveness (r = −.24, p = .023). Coping effectiveness is related positively to subjective performance (r = .37, p < .001) and stressor perceived controllability (r = .24, p = .019). Descriptive statistics and a full correlation matrix is presented in Table 2.

Decision reinvestment

The MANOVA indicated a main effect of decision reinvestment, F(8, 84) = 2.409, p = .022, Wilks's

Discussion

This study aimed to investigate how high and low reinvesters differ in terms of stress and coping appraisal, use of coping strategies, and perceived performance. Handball players were involved as participants and the study design took place during three regular season games.

Results showed that stressor intensity is negatively related to stressor perceived controllability (H1a) and coping effectiveness (H1b). This confirms findings by Nicholls et al. (2009), who consider stress as an

Conclusion

The aim of this research project was to explore the construct validity of the DSRS. Study 1, after an initial validation to the French language of the DSRS and the MSRS, explored the convergent and discriminant validity of DSRS together with the MSRS, the PID and the MDBQ. The potential for sex differences regarding reinvestment were also investigated. Study 2 subsequently explored the relationships between DSRS and stress and coping appraisals. Taken together, these findings provide insights

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