Human and Sport Values Empirical Integration

Abstract

Sport contexts are considered ideal environments for the transmission of desirable values; nevertheless, the empirical integration of general human values and sport-specific values remains underdeveloped. The main objective of this study was to test the theoretical integration of these two value frameworks using confirmatory multidimensional scaling (MDS). Furthermore, sex and age differences in both human and sport values were examined among adolescent athletes. A total of 1095 basketball players (69.3% male, 30.7% female; aged 12-21 years, M = 14.6, SD = 1.79) completed the Portrait Values Questionnaire-Revised and the Youth Sport Values Questionnaire-2. As hypothesized, the ordinal confirmatory MDS analysis placed Moral, Competence, and Status sport values in the Self-transcendence, Openness to change, and Self-enhancement value regions, respectively. Despite this, some item misplacements are discussed. These findings expand the existing literature on how human and sport-specific values models interact with each other, locating sport values within a broader human values framework, and highlight significant differences by sex and age. It is suggested that the promotion of sports environments in which Moral and Self-transcendence values are emphasized may be conducive to positive youth development and may guide interventions that are appropriate for athletes in relation to their age and sex.