The purpose of this study was to construct a questionnaire for athletic coaches that measures (1) general knowledge of the menstrual cycle (MC) and oral contraceptives (OC); (2) specific knowledge of athletes' MC and OC use; and (3) beliefs about the MC, OC use, and sport performance. Focus groups comprising coaches and athletes first assisted in developing items for the questionnaire. Subject matter experts from the field of gynecology further judged the quality of items on the general knowledge portion of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 207 male (n = 85) and female (n = 122) coaches of middle school, high school, and collegiate teams from across the southeastern United States. Coaches' scores on the 24-item general knowledge section of the questionnaire ranged from 8 to 83 (maximum score available = 90). Female coaches scored significantly higher than did male coaches on the overall general knowledge test, as well as on both subscales of the test (MC and OC subscale). Significant main effects were also found according to the sport coached, the age of the coach, and the ages of the athletes. An item analysis was performed on the general knowledge test to determine item difficulty, item discrimination, and internal consistency. General knowledge test items require little revision and Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the overall test is 0.94 (MC subscale, alpha = 0.93; OC subscale, alpha = 0.84). Responses to items assessing specific knowledge of athletes' MC and OC use proved difficult to measure and to interpret with a reasonable degree of validity. However, in general, female coaches had more knowledge about their athletes' MC and OC use than did male coaches. Moreover, results from a series of logistic regression analyses indicated that gender may be useful in predicting the outcome of knowledge on various items. Responses to the final section of the questionnaire (items assessing coach beliefs) suggest the salience of investigating this research area. Primarily, coaches view the MC as a source of stress for athletes, coaches believe that the MC impairs sport performance, and coaches want documentation of monthly performance change patterns. Recommendations for future research endeavors and considerations of reliability and validity are also discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2008. / October 30, 2008. / Oral Contraceptives, Coach Knowledge, Menstrual Cycle, Coach Attitudes / Includes bibliographical references. / David Pargman, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Quadagno, Outside Committee Member; Marcy Driscoll, Committee Member; Akihito Kamata, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_181791 |
| Contributors | Johnson, Teresa Rae (authoraut), Pargman, David (professor directing dissertation), Quadagno, David (outside committee member), Driscoll, Marcy (committee member), Kamata, Akihito (committee member), Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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