Validity and usefulness of the student-athletes' motivation toward sport and academics questionnaire: a Bayesian multilevel approach

Reliable assessment and understanding of student-athletes' motivation for dual careers are crucial to support their career development and transitions. The

The SAMSAQ-PT proved to be a robust and valuable questionnaire, which could be used in Portuguese-speaking countries. The findings of the cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys urge to consider individual and contextual characteristics when investigating motivation of dual-career of athletes, also concerning the sex-related opportunities in university sports. Furthermore, there is a need for a call for action to promote and nurture the student-athletes motivation to remain engaged in both sports and educational commitments.

In study one, conceptually and semantic translation of the questionnaire and Bayesian exploratory factor analysis were conducted. In study two, a Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis with an independent sample was performed. In study three, Bayesian multilevel modeling was applied to examine the construct validity of the questionnaire in a cross-sectional sample. In study four, the SAMSAQ-PT sensitiveness was examined in a longitudinal sample, and the

Altogether the results provided evidence validity and usefulness of the SAMSAQ-PT in Brazilian student-athletes. The Brazilian student-athletes' motivation scores were sensitive to the influence of sex, sport level, and type of university on career and sport motivation. SAMSAQ-PT estimate scores across an academic year showed a trend of stability in the scores, adjusting for sex, sport level, type of university, and student-athlete status.