Abstract
Many professional athletes and coaches have cited great team chemistry as an essential factor in producing a winning team and research has shown there are several team variables that positively contribute to team performance (Beauchamp & Eys, 2014). One variable that has lacked considerable research within sport group dynamics literature is trust. Organizational trust research has provided the impetus for trust research to move into the world of sport. The purpose of this research is to develop a sport-specific measure of trust. Procedure followed a typical scale development parameter: 1) an understanding was developed through a comprehensive literature review of trust in sport and organizational science; 2) items were generated, a comprehensive list of items were developed and narrowed through an expert review process and think aloud protocol; and 3) a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to identify the factor structure of the questionnaire based on participant's responses. Validity and reliability were also tested for. The initial pool items were refined through experts reviews and a Think Aloud Protocol. These steps refined the questionnaire and moved research into the next phase. The factor structure of the Trust in Sport Questionnaire was confirmed and validated. The development of a definition and measure of trust in sport that will allow future researchers to effectively assess trust within sport and examine how it relates to different sport variables.
