Sources of Stress among Greek Team Handball Referees: Construction and Validation of the Handball Officials' Sources of Stress Survey

Sports officials have recently received some attention in the academic literature. The aim of the present study was to examine sources of perceived psychological stress among certified Greek team handball referees. For this purpose, participants evaluated the intensity of 17 acutely stressful game situations on two occasions within a period of seven months. To explore the factor structure of the Handball Officials Sources of Stress Survey, 84 team handball officials completed the questionnaire. The analysis yielded a 4-factor structure (Evaluation, Fear of Physical Harm, Interpersonal Conflicts, and Fear of Appearing Incompetent), which accounted for 70% of the total variance. Age, education, rank, and years of experience as a handball player were unrelated to the referees' scores on the survey. To confirm the factor structure, 93 handball officials completed the survey seven months later. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the factorial structure of the scale. Sources and intensity of stress for handball referees are comparable to those identified in previous studies of referees' stress in other team sports.