Constructing and Standardizing a Mental Stress Scale During Competition for Iraqi Professional Basketball League Players

Abstract

The current research aims to constructing and standardizing a scale for mental stress during competition for Iraqi Professional Basketball League Players, season 2024-2025. Mental stress is considered one of the most prominent psychological challenges related to cognitive processes such as perception, attention, and memory. High levels of stress lead to decreased concentration and reduced ability to make quick decisions, negatively impacting competitive performance. Given the lack of specialized scales in this field within the local arena, the need arose to design a scientific instrument with accurate psychometric properties that would serve as a reliable reference for assessing mental stress levels. The research population consisted of 120 players representing league clubs (Air Defense, Dijlah University, Police, Zakho, Popular Mobilization Forces, Al-Karkh, North Gas, Hilla, Electricity, Trade, and Darbandikhan). They were divided into pilot and standardization samples. The research resulted in the successful constructing and standardizing of the scale, revealing a clear variation in mental stress levels among the players. The study concluded that the scale could be used by the Iraqi Basketball Federation as an accurate diagnostic tool to measure mental stress and differentiate between its levels (low, medium, and very high), which would contribute to designing psychological programs and preparing training plans that respond to the individual needs of players and enhance their competitive performance.