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Larsen et al. - 2025 - The Development of a Valid and Reliable Questionnaire to Measure Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contra356.33 kB
Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
The Development of a Valid and Reliable Questionnaire to Measure Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraceptive Knowledge Among Athletes and Sports Performance Support Staff
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, Vol.35(11), pp.1-19
2025
PMID: 41239834
Abstract
This study aimed to develop the first valid questionnaire to assess menstrual cycle (MC) and hormonal contraceptive (HC) knowledge in athletes and sports performance support staff. Questions were developed following a literature review and four knowledge domains were identified: (1) Normal MC Function, (2) MC Dysfunction, (3) Oral Contraceptive Pills, and (4) Other HCs. Experts (n = 6) reviewed the initial questionnaire, followed by pre-testing with athletes and support staff (n = 19). Validity (item analysis, construct validity) and reliability (test–retest, internal consistency) were assessed following questionnaire administration to athletes and staff without MC education (“Low Knowledge” [LK] group; n = 156) and “High Knowledge” [HK] participants (n = 30) with MC education. Most (n = 122) LK participants completed the questionnaire twice to assess test–retest reliability. Expert review showed good agreement (> 80%) on item clarity and relevancy and pre-testing indicated good content and face validity. The HK group scored significantly higher than LK participants across the questionnaire (43 ± 5 vs. 28 ± 10; p < 0.001; d = 1.48 [1.05, 1.90]) and all knowledge domains (p < 0.05). High item discrimination parameters were found for all domains, indicating effective discrimination between respondents with different knowledge levels. Test–retest reliability was excellent (intra-class correlation coefficient estimates from 0.93 [0.90, 0.95] to 0.98 [0.96, 0.99]), with all domains showing good-to-excellent reliability. Internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was considered acceptable (0.93 [0.92, 0.95]; α ≥ 0.7). This questionnaire delivers a valid and reliable tool to assess MC and HC knowledge amongst athletes and support staff and is recommended to guide and evaluate educational interventions to improve menstrual health literacy within sport.
Details
- Title
- The Development of a Valid and Reliable Questionnaire to Measure Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraceptive Knowledge Among Athletes and Sports Performance Support Staff
- Authors
- Brianna Larsen (Corresponding Author) - University of Southern QueenslandErica Greet - University of South AustraliaStephen P. Bird - University of Southern QueenslandKarlee Quinn - Queensland Academy of SportAlice McNamara - Sports Medicine AustraliaJohn Owen Osborne - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health
- Publication details
- Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, Vol.35(11), pp.1-19
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1111/sms.70167
- ISSN
- 1600-0838; 0905-7188
- PMID
- 41239834
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Data Availability
- The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
- Grant note
- This work was supported by the Australian Institute of Sport Research and Development Grant program (2023).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991187745702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Sport Sciences