A development and preliminary validation of the brief version of the Japanese Academic and Athletic Identity Scale

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a brief version of the Japanese Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS-JB), which would enable the survey to be easily conducted online nationwide in Japan. In addition, this study determined the centrality of academic and athletic identities in the elite student-athletes with scholarships and the sub-elite student-athletes with no scholarships. Participants (n = 1009) consisted of student-athletes from 20 universities (5 districts) in Japan, of which 560 were elite athletes (i.e. receiving scholarships) and 449 were sub-elite athletes (i.e. not receiving scholarships). Results showed content validity, factorial validity, and reliability of the brief version of the AAIS-JB. Both athletic and academic identities were significantly higher for the elite student-athletes than for the sub-elite student-athletes. Differences between the elite and sub-elite student-athletes provide important insights into the further development of intercollegiate sports in Japan. Sports administrators and the coaching staffs engaged with student-athletes can support student-athletes by understanding more about the dominant dimensions of their identity to maximize its positive impact on student-athletes.