Eastern Canadian Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium

March 2010, Montreal, QC, Canada


Designing the DHAQ: Construction and Validation of the Developmental History of Athletes Questionnaire


Melissa Hopwood 1,2, Joseph Baker 1 , Clare MacMahon 2 & Damian Farrow 2,3


1. York University, Toronto, Canada

2. Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

3. Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, Australia


Knowledge of the training requirements and environmental factors associated with expert sports performance is essential for the design of effective sport programs and the creation of nurturing practice environments. Current research in this area is dominated by a) the use of qualitative analysis techniques characterized by small samples of homogenous participants, and b) the use of basic training history questionnaires that do not account for the contribution of contextual factors to the development of expertise. The Developmental History of Athletes Questionnaire (DHAQ) was designed for collection of detailed developmental histories from larger samples of athletes than have previously been investigated. To establish the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, fifteen Australian national level athletes completed the DHAQ on two occasions and participated in a semi-structured interview. Information from parents and coaches was also collected to substantiate athlete data. Preliminary analyses support the DHAQ as a reliable measurement tool.


To cite this presentation:

Hopwood, M., Baker, J., MacMahon, C., & Farrow, D. (2010, March). Designing the DHAQ: Construction and validation of the Developmental History of Athletes Questionnaire. Eastern Canadian Sport & Exercise Psychology Symposium, Montreal, Canada.

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An investigation of the development of sport expertise

Pathways to the Podium Research Project