Athletic Identity Measurement Scale

Abstract

Self-identity refers to how people define and describe themselves. The Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS) is a 10-item self-report questionnaire that was developed to assess domain-specific self-identification as an athlete. Research supports the internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity of the AIMS. Refinement of the original 10-item AIMS version produced a more psychometrically sound 7-item version that has been used in investigations of a wide variety of sport-related phenomena, including those in the behavioral health domain, such as adherence to rehabilitation, burnout, injury occurrence, and postsurgical recovery. Developed in English, the AIMS has been translated into more than 20 other languages to date to facilitate cross-cultural research and ensure its applicability in diverse populations and has been adapted to assess self-identification as specific types of athletes (e.g., bodybuilders, CrossFit athletes, dancers, runners, and swimmers). A third version of the AIMS, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scales (AIMS-3G), was recently developed to address content- and dimensionality-related limitations of the 7-item version. The instrument has potential practical utility in applied settings to identify individuals at risk of experiencing difficulty during and after sports transitions such as career termination, deselection, and injury.