Willpower Level Scale for Athletes (WLSA): A Reliability and Validity Study

Year 2025, Volume: 30 Issue: 3, 74 - 84, 26.09.2025

Nuriye Şeyma Kara , Nezaket Bilge Uzun , Gültekin Lekesiz

https://doi.org/10.53434/gbesbd.1694904

Abstract

This study aimed to develop the Willpower Level Scale for Athletes (WLSA), an instrument designed to assess athletes’ capacity to maintain determination, self-discipline, and motivation under challenging conditions. The candidate scale comprised 35 items structured on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“Does Not Describe Me at All”) to 7 (“Describes Me Completely”). Content validity was established through comprehensive literature review, focus group interviews, and expert consultations during the scale development process. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure (stability, emotional control, and physical control), which collectively explained 60.918% of the total variance. The resultant structure was subsequently validated via confirmatory factor analysis, yielding satisfactory goodness-of-fit indices: χ2/df = 4.46, RMSEA = .075, CFI = .97, SRMR = .052, GFI = .92, and AGFI = .89. Internal consistency was demonstrated through Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .86 for Stability, .83 for Emotional Control, .75 for Physical Control, and .90 for the overall scale. The findings confirm that the WLSA constitutes a valid and reliable measurement instrument for assessing willpower levels in athletic populations.

Keywords

Sport , Willpower control , Reliability , Validity , Athletes

Ethical Statement

The study was approved by the Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Social and Human Sciences Ethics Committee on 10.01.2025, with decision number 07.

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