Translation and Validation of a German Version of the Sport Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ)

This study presents the translation and validation of the English Sport Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ; Jones et al., 2005), which measures pre-competition emotions of athletes. In Study 1, a German version of the SEQ (SEQ-d) was produced using a back-to-back translation and the bilingual retest method (n = 32). In Study 2 (tennis players, n = 116), however, a factor structure deviating from the original was shown, whereupon SEQ-d was developed as a three-dimensional short scale. This was validated in Study 3 (runners, n = 271). The short scale has an acceptable fit (CFI =.950, RMSEA =.069, SRMR =.063) and the internal consistency was alpha =.84 (negative emotions), alpha =.86 (positive emotions), alpha =.87 (tension). Convergent validity was confirmed by correlations with other emotional characteristics. Criterion validity was examined on the basis of additional parameters related to competition and persons (e. g., age, competition experience, etc.). The German version of SEQ is an economic and validated instrument for measuring pre-competition emotions.