L’objet de cette étude était de développer et valider en langue française une échelle courte mesurant le désengagement moral en sport en langue française (ECDMS), et de tester son invariance selon le genre. L’outil a été développé sur la base de la littérature existante (Bandura et al. [2001,2003]) [6Bandura A., Caprara G.V., Barbaranelli C., e al. Sociocognitive self-regulatory mechanisms governing transgressive behavior J Pers Soc Psychol 2001 ;  80 : 125-135 [cross-ref]

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 7Bandura A., Caprara G.V., Barbaranelli C., e al. Role of affective self-regulatory efficacy in diverse spheres of psychosocial functioning Child Devel 2003 ;  74 : 769-782

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti]. Trois études complémentaires ont été réalisées auprès de 1305 étudiants. Dans la première étude, l’analyse factorielle d’une première version de l’ECDMS a permis d’identifier deux sous-échelles de trois items (i.e., rejet ou partage de responsabilité [RPR] ; minimisation [MIN] des transgressions et de leurs conséquences) présentant de bonnes consistances internes. La deuxième étude a confirmé la structure bifactorielle de l’instrument et a montré son invariance partielle selon le genre. Enfin, la troisième étude a montré la fidélité temporelle et la validité théorique de l’instrument au travers de ses relations avec d’autres construits mesurant l’autorégulation des affects ou les comportements prosociaux des individus (Boardley et Kavussanu [2007] et Corrion et al. [2009]) [9Boardley I.D., Kavussanu M. Development and validation of the moral disengagement in sport scale J Sport Exerc Psychol 2007 ;  29 : 608-628

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 14Corrion K., Long T., Smith A.L., e al. “It’s not my fault; It’s not serious”: Athlete accounts of moral disengagement in competitive sport Sport Psychol 2009 ;  23 : 388-404

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti]. Au final, l’ECDMS apparaît comme un instrument présentant de bonnes qualités psychométriques et constitue un outil en langue française pouvant ouvrir la voie à de futures recherches sur le désengagement moral d’adolescents ou d’adultes sportifs.

According to Bandura, individuals are able to violate their personal standards, without self-sanction, by using the psychological operations of moral disengagement. For Bandura et al., moral disengagement is characterized by eight mechanisms belonging to one of the following four groups: (a) reconstructing conduct; (b) reconsideration of negative effects; (c) disqualification of the victim; and (d) obscuring of personal causal agency. Other researchers have measured moral disengagement in various contexts of everyday life using Bandura et al.’s scale and suggested that moral disengagement mechanisms would fall into two or three groups according to context. One context in which moral issues have a major role is sport.

Three complementary studies were carried out on a total of 1305 young French adult athletes to develop and validate a Short French Questionnaire of Moral Disengagement in Sport (SFQMDS) and to test its invariance according to gender.

With reference to the existing literature, an initial French version of the SFQDMS was developed. French university students (n=220) then voluntarily completed the questionnaire. The validity of this preliminary version and the clarity of the items were examined and ascertained, and factorial analyses identified 10 items that loaded onto two factors (i.e., projecting fault onto others or sharing of responsibility; minimization of transgression and their consequences). Each factor displayed good internal consistency.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using AMOS 7.0 software. The sample included 1021 French university students (M_age=21.52; SD=2.34). The first analysis of the data from 298 French students suggested that four items should be eliminated. The six-item model was then tested with a CFA of the data from 723 other participants (M_age=21.51; SD=2.34) and exhibited acceptable fit indices: (χ² [8, 723]=1.54; p>0.09; GFI=0.97; TLI=0.97; CFI=0.97; RMSEA=0.03; RMSEA LO/HI=0.01/0.05). These results confirmed the bifactorial structure of the instrument, as well as its partial invariance across genders at the most complex level (i.e., strict) of its factorial structure. These statistical analyses demonstrated the excellent internal consistency and very good construct validity of the SFQDMS.

The third study examined the temporal stability of the SFQDMS and its theoretical validity with a sample of 221 French students (M_age=21.00; SD=2.05). Our results were found to be stable over time. From a theoretical standpoint, the SFQDMS was related to existing instruments that measure individuals’ affective self-regulatory efficacy and prosocial behavior. These results demonstrated the external validity of the instrument.

The overall results presented in these studies confirmed the good psychometric properties of the SFQDMS. This questionnaire consists of two subscales of three items measuring two groups of moral disengagement. The first involves projecting the fault for one’s own transgressions onto others or sharing of responsibility (e.g., “It’s not my fault if I behave badly [cheating or aggression] because it’s my opponent who started it”). The second subscale involves the minimization of transgressions and their consequences (e.g., “It’s not serious if I behave badly [cheating or aggression] because I do it to keep the advantage”). This instrument is a reliable tool that could be fruitfully used in future research addressing the moral disengagement of French adolescents or adults in sport. A deeper understanding of the processes involved in moral disengagement would facilitate the development of strategies to prevent or remediate transgressive behavior in the sport domain.