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Abstract

This research aims to adapt the "Team Identification Scale" for the Turkish Culture and Sports field for athletes. The sample group of the study consists of a total of 216 people, 103 female and 113 male professional volleyball players who compete in various league categories in Turkey. The measurement tool was applied to athletes who volunteered to participate in the research. The 5-point Likert scale was utilized in the assessment of expressions of the scale. In addition to descriptive statistics such as arithmetic means, standard deviation, frequency, percentage the skewness and kurtosis values were examined for the multivariate normal distribution in the data analysis process. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to test the construct validity of the scale. To test the reliability of the scale, total item correlation values and Cronbach's Alpha coefficients were examined. CFA results show that the scale maintains its single-factor structure (Chi-Square/sd=1.32, RMSEA=0.039, RMR=0.021, SRMR=0.030, NFI=0.98, NNFI=0.99, CFI=1.00, GFI=0.99, AGFI=0.96). The internal consistency coefficient of the scale is calculated as 733. As a result, it can be stated that the scale that was adapted to Turkish culture as the "Team Identification Scale for Athletes" is a valid and reliable measurement tool to estimate the identification levels of athletes with their teams. IntroductionThe concept of organizational identification, which is based on the social identity theory, was an outcome of the efforts of organizations to understand their environment [1,2] and became an important concept that grasped more attention in recent years [3,4]. The need to understand and analyze the individuals and their commitments to their organizations [2,5], the spread of the idea that the identification of the employees with their organization will have significant benefits both for individuals and the organization, has brought the concept of organizational identification under the spotlight [3]. This process is significantly affected by workplace relationships, organizational culture, organizational performance, the complex behavior of employees, awareness of the positive reflections of organizational identification, and individuals' efforts to socially classify themselves [6]. Social identity theory which is developed by Tajfel and Turner [7] tries to explain the group memberships which is a reflection of individuals' personalities and how they use their characteristics within their groups [8]. This theory promoted basic assumptions such as people tend to develop positive self-esteem, they maintain this self-esteem, individuals' social identities are part of their self, and that the social identity of the individual is reflected through group [7,5].