The Coach – Athlete Relationship Questionnaire 2 The Coach –

The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a self-report instrument that measures the nature of the coach – athlete relationship. Jowett and colleagues’ (Jowett & Meek, 2000; Jowett, in press) qualitative case studies and relevant literature were used to generate items for an instrument that measures affective, cognitive and behavioral aspects of the coach – athlete relationship. Two studies were carried out in an attempt to assess content, predictive, and construct validity, as well as internal consistency, of the Coach – Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART – Q), using two independent British samples. Principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to reduce the number of items, identify principal components, and confirm the latent structure of the CART – Q. Results supported the multi-dimensional nature of the coach – athlete relationship. The latent structure of the CART Q was underlined by the latent variables of coaches’ and athletes’ Closeness (emotions), Commitment (cognitions), and Complementarity (behaviors).