Abstract
Efforts have been made to validate an assessment tool for positive youth development (PYD) in younger sporting cohorts (MacDonald et al., 2012; Sullivan, LaForge-MacKenzie, & Marini, in press). MacDonald et al. created the Youth Experience Scale for Sport (YES-S), a five factor instrument with 4 positive developmental dimensions (i.e., personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative) and one negative dimension. Sullivan et al. ran confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) on the YES-S with a sample of 350 youth athletes and found support for a modified, 22 item Short Form YES-S. Rathwell and Young (2015) called for an assessment tool of PYD in the university sport domain. In this study, we explored the fit and factor structure of the Short Form YES-S with a sample of 605 Canadian university athletes (237m, 368f; Mage:20, range:17-25) from 26 different sports. Using AMOS software, CFAs were conducted to fit data to Sullivan et al.'s proposed 5 factor model. Results yielded a measurement model with good fit, CFI=.908, RMSEA=.058, and SRMR=.057. No modifications were made; factor composite reliability coefficients indicated strong reliability (CR = .70) and all factor loadings, except one, exceeded .5. This is the second confirmation for the Short Form YES-S facture structure, and a positive step towards creating a strong quantitative measurement tool for PYD. To improve the empirical evidence for the Short Form YES-S, factors that could affect PYD in a sport setting (e.g., specific age, sport type, individual vs. team sport, and gender) should be explored.Acknowledgments: SSHRC