Date of Award

4-18-2024

Publication Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Kinesiology

Keywords

athlete leadership;group dynamics;psychometric evaluation;statistics

Supervisor

Todd Loughead

Abstract

Effective leadership has been identified as a crucial factor in achieving team success (Zaccaro et al., 2002). While most sport leadership research has focused on coaches, there is growing recognition on the important role of athlete leadership within sport teams. Researchers have highlighted the importance of athlete leadership, where the leadership responsibilities are shared amongst teammates who lead each other toward the achievement of team goals (Cotterill & Fransen, 2016; Loughead et al., 2019). Researchers using quantitative methodologies have primarily employed cross-sectional designs, relying heavily on two inventories, Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS; Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980) and the Differentiated Transformational Leadership Inventory (DTLI; Callow et al., 2009), to measure athlete leadership behaviours. While many correlates have been examined in relation to athlete leadership behaviours, cohesion has been the most examined (Loughead, 2017). Thus, the general purpose of this doctoral dissertation was to evaluate the athlete leadership-cohesion relationship and to examine the psychometric properties of these two inventories measuring athlete leadership behaviours. These aims were accomplished through three research studies (i.e., Chapters 2-4). In Chapter 2, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted synthesizing existing research on the athlete leadership-cohesion relationship, thereby providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge concerning this relationship. In total, 13 studies (n = 13; k = 18; N = 2368) reporting 72 effect sizes showed significant moderate to large effects between athlete leadership behaviours and cohesion. In particular, the main effects were larger for task cohesion than for social cohesion. Moderation analyses indicated that male and female athletes perceive the leadership behaviours displayed by their athlete leaders in similar ways. In Chapter 3, the psychometric validation of two prominent behavioural athlete leadership questionnaires, the LSS (Challadurai & Saleh, 1980) and the DTLI (Callow et al., 2009) was performed with the goal of examining the validity and reliability of these inventories as measures of athlete leadership behaviours. The results showed that a first-order ESEM model with five factors for the LSS and seven factors for the DTLI fit the data well, had high levels of measurement quality, showed acceptable levels of reliability, and showed strong measurement invariance across genders. Further, criterion validity for both the LSS and DTLI was established by showing a positive relationship with cohesion as well as positive and significant relationships between the factors of the LSS and DTLI. In Chapter 4, the development and validation of a shorter measure of athlete leadership, labeled the Athlete Leadership Behaviour Questionnaire (ALBQ) is reported. The ALBQ is a seven dimension inventory comprised of 28 items that offers a shortened and valid measure designed to assess athlete leadership behaviours, offering a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners in sport psychology.

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