Psychometric properties of the Persian Version of Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (REFS)

Despite the importance of refereeing judgments and the sensitivity of referees' role in holding sports competitions and the impact of referees' decisions on the outcome of the game, little research has been done on various aspects of the referees' profession and occupation. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the self-efficacy scale in referees.

The present research, was a descriptive-correlational study. For this purpose, 228 referees of team and individual sports completed the Persian version of the self-efficacy scale in referees. First, using the open-translation method, the accuracy of the Persian version of the questionnaire was confirmed, and then to determine the construct validity of the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis based on structural equation modeling was used, and to determine internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. Also, for the time reliability of the questions, intra-class correlation with the test-retest method was used.

The results showed that the goodness of fit index and the comparative fit index are higher than (0.90). Time reliability (0.76) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient for self-efficacy and its dimensions above 0.7 (acceptable index value) were obtained.

Based on the results, the Persian version of the self-efficacy scale in referees has structural validity and internal and temporal reliability desirable and acceptable for referees of team and individual sports and therefore can be used as a valid and reliable tool to assess the self-efficacy of Iranian referees.