THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A MEASURE OF COLLEGE STUDENT ATHLETE INTEGRATION

Abstract

Research has shown that a student's level of institutional integration is a better predictor of college persistence than academic performance (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980). Tinto (1975) proposed that institutional integration is the student's perception of his/her fit to the university he/she is attending. Student athletes are a unique sub-culture within the general student population (Carodine et al., 2003; Melendez, 2007). Further, research on college student athletes indicates that athletes entering with certain individual characteristics are at a greater risk for academic failure and dropping out than others (Gayles & Hu, 2009; Leppel, 2005; Pascarella et al, 1995). Few researchers have investigated the factors contributing to the college integration of student athletes, and because of the lack of an adequate measure for assessing the integration of college student athletes. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate a measure of college student athlete integration. The sample included 198 male and female NCAA Division I student athletes. The psychometric properties of the measure were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis, and the validity of the measure of was assessed through evaluation of concurrent-criterion measures, discriminant evidence, and convergent evidence. A four factor model of college student-athlete integration was confirmed including: interrelatedness with teammates, interrelatedness with coaches, competence, and individual status.