Cross-cultural validation of the Conceptions of the Nature of Athletic Ability Questionnaire Version 2

The present study examined the cross-cultural validity of the Conceptions of the Nature of Athletic Ability Questionnaire Version 2 (CNAAQ-2) using two samples of secondary school students from the United Kingdom (n = 784) and Singapore (n = 647). The factorial invariance and structural latent mean differences were investigated. Confirmatory factor analyses of both samples supported a structure comprising two higher-order factors of entity and incremental beliefs underpinned by beliefs that athletic ability is stable and a gift (entity) and is open to improvement and can be developed through learning (incremental). The pooled data analysis provided evidence for the cross-cultural applicability of the measurement model. Multigroup analysis demonstrated invariance of the factor forms, factor loadings, factor variances, and factor covariances. However, the latent mean structures of all dimensions measured by the CNAAQ-2 were not equivalent for the UK and Singaporean samples, suggesting that there may be cultural influences in terms of mean scores of the constructs in children and youth across the two countries.