Multidimensional Scaling and Factor Analysis of Coaching Behavior as Perceived by High School Hockey Players

A study was undertaken to determine the dimensionality of commonly perceived coaching behaviors as perceived by adolescent hockey players. To this end 160 players (ages 12 to 18 yr) attending a summer sport camp were administered a 140-item questionnaire concerned with leadership behaviors of coaches. The 57 most commonly reported coaching behaviors were subjected to factor analytic and multidimensional scaling procedures to infer the underlying dimensionality. Incomplete principal component analysis with varimax rotation gave 20 dimensions accounting for 68% of total variance while Kruskal-Shepard multidimensional scaling gave 8 dimensions with a stress value of 12.1%. In terms of frequency of occurrence, behaviors considered a priori to be of a communicative nature, that is involving the passing of information either to or from the coach, were found to be much more characteristic of hockey coaches than were behaviors considered a priori to be dominating behaviors. The scaling solution was given primary attention over the factor analytic solution and reasons were given for this decision. The 8 dimensions in the scaling solution were named competitive training, initiation, interpersonal team operation, social, representation, organized communication, recognition, and general excitement.