The development and validation of a questionnaire to assess female athletes' and coaches' knowledge about hormonal contraception.
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Sport Psychology, Sport Science Faculty, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
- 2Research Group Elite Female Athletes, Institute for Applied Training Science, Leipzig, Germany.
- 3Movement Biomechanics, Institute of Sport Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- 4Faculty of Culture, Media & Psychology, Macromedia University of Applied Science, Leipzig, Germany.
- 5Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre, Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden.
Abstract
In this study, a hormonal contraception knowledge questionnaire (HCKQ) for female athletes and coaches was developed and validated. An initial 17-item questionnaire (Pre-HCKQ), including items adapted from existing tools and newly generated items, was piloted with 325 recreational female athletes and 46 coaches. The analysis of item difficulty index and item-total correlation resulted in a 10-item HCKQ, which included questions about the safety of hormonal contraceptive (HC) use, function and effects of different HCs, risk factors and side effects of HC use, and the fertile window in the menstrual cycle. Eighteen experts evaluated the HCKQ for relevance (M = 5.5, SD = 0.8) and clarity (M = 5.5, SD = 0.9) using a 6-point Likert scale. The HCKQ was subsequently administered to 562 elite female athletes and 170 coaches. The mean difficulty index was 46%, and the mean item-total correlation was r = .29. A significant difference in knowledge scores was found between female athletes, female coaches, and male coaches, as well as between HC users and non-users. Reliability was assessed through internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .61, McDonald's ω = .62, Guttman's λ₂ = .63) and test-retest in a separate, mixed-sex cohort of 64 sport science students (Spearman's ρ = .75; ICC(2,1) = .74). The HCKQ provides a brief tool for assessing HC-related knowledge in sports contexts, with initial evidence supporting its content validity, known-groups validity, and reliability. Future research may use the HCKQ to evaluate the effectiveness of female health education programs in sport.
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BibTeX
@article{fischer2026development,
title = {{The development and validation of a questionnaire to assess female athletes' and coaches' knowledge about hormonal contraception.}},
author = {Katharina Fischer and Elisabeth Maria Kirschbaum and Lucie Nikoleizig and Anne-Marie Elbe and Kerry McGawley},
journal = {Frontiers in sports and active living},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fspor.2026.1921305},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996694},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The development and validation of a questionnaire to assess female athletes' and coaches' knowledge about hormonal contraception.
AU - Katharina Fischer
AU - Elisabeth Maria Kirschbaum
AU - Lucie Nikoleizig
AU - Anne-Marie Elbe
AU - Kerry McGawley
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in sports and active living
DO - 10.3389/fspor.2026.1921305
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996694
AB - In this study, a hormonal contraception knowledge questionnaire (HCKQ) for female athletes and coaches was developed and validated. An initial 17-item questionnaire (Pre-HCKQ), including items adapted from existing tools and newly generated items, was piloted with 325 recreational female athletes and 46 coaches. The analysis of item difficulty index and item-total correlation resulted in a 10-item HCKQ, which included questions about the safety of hormonal contraceptive (HC) use, function and effects of different HCs, risk factors and side effects of HC use, and the fertile window in the menstrual cycle. Eighteen experts evaluated the HCKQ for relevance (M = 5.5, SD = 0.8) and clarity (M = 5.5, SD = 0.9) using a 6-point Likert scale. The HCKQ was subsequently administered to 562 elite female athletes and 170 coaches. The mean difficulty index was 46%, and the mean item-total correlation was r = .29. A significant difference in knowledge scores was found between female athletes, female coaches, and male coaches, as well as between HC users and non-users. Reliability was assessed through internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .61, McDonald's ω = .62, Guttman's λ₂ = .63) and test-retest in a separate, mixed-sex cohort of 64 sport science students (Spearman's ρ = .75; ICC(2,1) = .74). The HCKQ provides a brief tool for assessing HC-related knowledge in sports contexts, with initial evidence supporting its content validity, known-groups validity, and reliability. Future research may use the HCKQ to evaluate the effectiveness of female health education programs in sport.
SN - 2624-9367
ER -