Development and initial factor validation of the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) in a sample of young athletes

This study sought to develop and validate a questionnaire about violence experienced by children in sport. A convenience sample of 1055 French-Canadian athletes between 14 and 17 years old was recruited to participate in an online study assessing their experiences of interpersonal violence in sport. The Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire (VTAQ) includes three subscales: athlete version (VTAQ-A), coach version (VTAQ-C), and parent version (VTAQ-P). Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was used to identify latent factors underlying versions of the VTAQ. The VTAQ-Athlete includes nine items with three factors: psychological (4 items), physical (2 items), and sexual (3 items). The VTAQ-Coach includes 36 items with three factors: psychological/neglect (16 items), physical (9 items), and sexual (11 items). The VTAQ-Parent includes 25 items with two factors: psychological/neglect (17 items) and physical (8 items). The VTAQ provides initial validation of the first measure by questioning children directly about their experiences of interpersonal violence in sport.