Investigating the factor structure of the Dual Career Competency Questionnaire for Athletes in European student-athletes.

Qualitative research identified a range of important dual career (DC) competencies that facilitate athletes’ progression in their dual “study and elite sport” career pathway (e.g. MacNamara & Collins, 2010, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 353–362). However, a valid and reliable instrument that measures athletes’ important DC competencies was lacking. In response to this lack in methodology, the Dual Career Competency Questionnaire for Athletes (DCCQ-A) was developed and used as part of the Erasmus+ Sport project “Gold in Education and Elite Sport”. The specific aims of this study were to (a) investigate the latent factor structure of the DCCQ-A, and (b) examine athletes’ percep- tions of the importance and possession of the factors identi- fied in the DCCQ-A. With institutional ethics approval, 3,350 15-to-26-year-old athletes (mean age: 18.6 ± 2.5; 53% male; 76% pupils and 24% students) from nine European countries completed the DCCQ-A in which they rated their perceived importance and possession of 38 DC competency items (i.e., DC knowledge, skills and attitudes) on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) was used to investigate the factor structure of the DCCQ-A. Athletes’ perceived importance and possession of DC com- petencies were analysed using descriptive statistics in SPSS. ESEM supported a 29-item four-factor structure of the DCCQ with satisfactory psychometric properties (RMSEA = .049, CFI = .952, TLI = .934) and adequate internal consistency scores (α = .75–87). The factors reflected four DC competencies: (a) DC management (e.g. time management, planning), (b) Career Planning (e.g. preparing for the unexpected, career exploration), (c) Mental Toughness (e.g. stress management, resilience), and (d) Social Intelligence & Adaptability (e.g. making and maintaining social contacts). Furthermore, ath- letes perceived all four DC competencies as important for a successful DC (mean: 4.15–4.40) and reported average to good possession of the four DC competencies (mean: 3.52– 3.85). The study advances previous research by providing the first measure of athletes’ DC competency, and suggests the four-factor structure of the DCCQA-29 to be used as an evidence-based framework for DC practitioners to operationalize their work with student-athletes.