[External and internal validity of a multidimensional Locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes (LOCSCAS)]. / Étude de la validité interne et externe d'une échelle multidimensionnelle de Locus de contrôle spécifique aux comportements alimentaires des sportifs (LOCSCAS).

In the field of health psychology, the control has consistently been considered as a protective factor. This protective role has been also highlighted in eating attitudes' domain. However, current studies use the one-dimensional scale of Rotter or the multidimensional health locus of control scale, and no specific eating attitudes' scale in the sport context exists. Moreover, the social influence in previous scales is limited. According to recent works, the purpose of this study was to test the internal and external validity of a multidimensional locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were solicited. A confirmatory factorial analysis was conducted in order to test the internal validity of the scale. The scale external validity was tested in relation to eating attitudes. The internal validity of the scale was verified as well as the external validity, which confirmed the importance of taking into consideration social influences. Indeed, the 2 subscales "Trainers, friends" and "Parents, family" are related respectively positively and negatively in eating disorders.

Analysis of eating disorders among 12-17 year-old adolescents in the island of Gran Canaria.

A clinical pathology characterized by disturbances in eating behaviour has been often associated to socio-cultural factors that influence the psychopathology of these disorders. The alarming increase in the number of teenagers with eating disorders underscores the need to promote research on the underlying causes, and to identify high-risk subpopulations in need of effective targeted treatment. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of eating disorders among an adolescent population of both sexes on the island of Gran Canaria. The sample was composed of adolescent boys and girls aged 12 to 17 years old (N=1364) who resided in different municipalities of Gran Canaria. The EAT-40 questionnaire was administered (cut-off point at 30), and body mass index measurements were assessed. The mean BMI for the 1364 subjects was 21.8 Kg/m²; 15% were underweight, and of these at least 1% obtained BMI values below 15 Kg/m². Thus, 13.4% of adolescents were potentially at risk of eating disorders according to the EAT-40 questionnaire. Moreover, the BMI was not significantly correlated to the EAT-40 and was not considered a sufficient parameter to establish the incidence of eating disorders.

[Development and factorial validity of a moral disengagement in Sport Short Scale]. / Développement et validation d'une échelle courte mesurant le désengagement moral en sport (ECDMS).

BACKGROUND: According to Bandura, individuals are able to violate their personal standards, without self-sanction, by using the psychological operations of moral disengagement. For Bandura et al., moral disengagement is characterized by eight mechanisms belonging to one of the following four groups: (a) reconstructing conduct; (b) reconsideration of negative effects; (c) disqualification of the victim; and (d) obscuring of personal causal agency. Other researchers have measured moral disengagement in various contexts of everyday life using Bandura et al.'s scale and suggested that moral disengagement mechanisms would fall into two or three groups according to context. One context in which moral issues have a major role is sport. METHODS: Three complementary studies were carried out on a total of 1305 young French adult athletes to develop and validate a Short French Questionnaire of Moral Disengagement in Sport (SFQMDS) and to test its invariance according to gender. STUDY 1: With reference to the existing literature, an initial French version of the SFQDMS was developed. French university students (n=220) then voluntarily completed the questionnaire. The validity of this preliminary version and the clarity of the items were examined and ascertained, and factorial analyses identified 10 items that loaded onto two factors (i.e., projecting fault onto others or sharing of responsibility; minimization of transgression and their consequences). Each factor displayed good internal consistency. STUDY 2: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using AMOS 7.0 software. The sample included 1021 French university students (M(age)=21.52; SD=2.34). The first analysis of the data from 298 French students suggested that four items should be eliminated. The six-item model was then tested with a CFA of the data from 723 other participants (M(age)=21.51; SD=2.34) and exhibited acceptable fit indices: (χ² [8, 723]=1.54; p>0.09; GFI=0.97; TLI=0.97; CFI=0.97; RMSEA=0.03; RMSEA LO/HI=0.01/0.05). These results confirmed the bifactorial structure of the instrument, as well as its partial invariance across genders at the most complex level (i.e., strict) of its factorial structure. These statistical analyses demonstrated the excellent internal consistency and very good construct validity of the SFQDMS. STUDY 3: The third study examined the temporal stability of the SFQDMS and its theoretical validity with a sample of 221 French students (M(age)=21.00; SD=2.05). Our results were found to be stable over time. From a theoretical standpoint, the SFQDMS was related to existing instruments that measure individuals' affective self-regulatory efficacy and prosocial behavior. These results demonstrated the external validity of the instrument. CONCLUSION: The overall results presented in these studies confirmed the good psychometric properties of the SFQDMS. This questionnaire consists of two subscales of three items measuring two groups of moral disengagement. The first involves projecting the fault for one's own transgressions onto others or sharing of responsibility (e.g., "It's not my fault if I behave badly [cheating or aggression] because it's my opponent who started it"). The second subscale involves the minimization of transgressions and their consequences (e.g., "It's not serious if I behave badly [cheating or aggression] because I do it to keep the advantage"). This instrument is a reliable tool that could be fruitfully used in future research addressing the moral disengagement of French adolescents or adults in sport. A deeper understanding of the processes involved in moral disengagement would facilitate the development of strategies to prevent or remediate transgressive behavior in the sport domain.

Effect of locus of control on disordered eating in athletes: the mediational role of self-regulation of eating attitudes.

This study examined the influence of locus of control on disordered eating as mediated by the self-regulation of eating attitudes. The assessment instruments were adapted for athletes as the entire sample of 179 volunteer University students (M(age)=21.12; SD=2.87) were all regularly involved in competition. The results showed that (a) an internal locus of control had a positive influence on the self-regulation of eating attitudes in social interaction contexts; (b) self-regulatory eating attitudes had a negative influence on disordered eating in contexts of negative affect, social interaction, and lack of anticipation of consequences on performance; and (c) an internal locus of control had an influence on disordered eating through the mediation of self-regulatory eating attitudes in social interaction contexts, and an external locus of control attributed to the coach and sports friends had an influence on disordered eating through the mediation of self-regulatory eating attitudes in contexts of negative affect, social interaction and lack of anticipation of consequences on performance. This study, combined with an earlier study from Scoffier, Maïano, and d'Arripe-Longueville (2009) on the antecedents of athletes' eating disorders, suggests the powerful impact of the social environment on the development of disordered eating in athletes.

Development and validation of the French Self-Regulatory Eating Attitude in Sports Scale.

In this study, the French Self-Regulatory Eating Attitude in Sports Scale (SREASS) was developed and then validated. Five subscales measure the control of eating attitude in contexts of: (a) food temptation, (b) negative affects, (c) social interaction, (d) lack of compensatory strategy, and (e) lack of anticipation of consequences on performance. The validation procedure required the participation of 527 student athletes and four successive studies to develop and present a preliminary scale and assess the clarity of the items (study 1), evaluate the factorial structure validity of the scale and test the invariance across gender (study 2), assess the time stability (study 3), and assess the external validity of the instrument (study 4). The present results provide preliminary evidence for the appropriateness of the SREASS for French student athletes. Nevertheless, further evaluation of this instrument is warranted to establish the robustness of the present findings.