Tools & Instruments

Developing Free Youth Development Programs

Sport-based youth development programs often rely on very small budgets that do not always allow for costly evaluation tools. Due to this, many programs are unable to afford quality program evaluations that are necessary to show youth outcomes. The LiFEsports Initiative currently works with faculty to develop program evaluation tools that are free-of-charge to youth development programs.

Youth Sport

The LiFEsports Survey Tools includes eight brief survey scales because we know that program success depends on more than just the sports skill that youth learn. Children and youth are asked about a variety of social skills related to social competence and youth development. Through the research at LiFEsports Summer Camp in Columbus, Ohio, we have tested these tools to make sure they are reliable and valid. These tools are in the public domain. To request approval for their use, please contact Dr. Dawn Anderson-Butcher at Anderson-butcher.1@osu.edu.

The list below shows each survey scale. Click on the name of each scale to access the corresponding technical report.

Athlete Check-In Ideas

Coaches often check-in with student-athletes who are dealing with injuries, recovering from concussions, or struggling with academic issues. Coaches then utilize this information to link and refer student-athletes to needed supports (i.e., athletic trainers, doctors, caregivers, teachers, etc.).

Coach Beyond... Card

The Coach Beyond… Make the Call card is a helpful tool to have contact information for who to reach out to when you have a student-athlete with a mental health concerns. The card includes places to fill in contact information for your high school counselor or school mental health professional, county mental health provider(s), and the National Suicide Hotline. You can fill out and keep this card for yourself and/or share it out with your coaches, student-athletes, and their families.

Perceived Self-Control Scale

The perceived self-control scale was developed for use in a sport-based positive youth development program to assess youths’ perceptions of their ability to control and manage their reactions and emotions.

Perceived Effort Scale

The perceived effort scale was developed to assess youths’ perceptions of exerting effort and trying hard across various situations.

Teamwork Scale for Youth

The teamwork scale for youth was designed to measure youths’ ability to collaborate and work together to achieve a common goal in the group/team context.

Perceived Social Responsibility Scale

The perceived social responsibility scale was developed to assess youths’ perceptions of their commitment to others and their community.

Perceived Social Competence Scale II

The perceived social competence scale II was developed for use in a sport-based positive youth development program to measure the degree to which youth engage in prosocial behaviors.

Social Sports Experience Scale

The social sports experience scale was developed to assess youths’ perceptions of acting respectfully, responsibly, fairly, and cooperatively with others in sports activities.

Belonging Scale

The belonging scale was developed for use in youth development programs to assess youths’ perception of their sense of belonging to a program.

Staff and Parent Support for Health and Fitness Scale

The staff and parent support for health and fitness scale was developed to assess youths’ perceptions of the encouragement they receive from their camp counselors and parents to engage in healthy behaviors.

The Ohio Quality Assessment Rubric

The Ohio Quality Assessment Rubric is a series of instruments designed by CAYCI to assess the perceptions of quality in afterschool settings among various stakeholders. O-QAR is comprised of four tools which have been developed by leaders in the CAYCI department of the College of Social Work at OSU since 2014.

These Include:

Group photo showing Peace signs

While these tools are available for use in the public domain, we ask that you cite the scale appropriately (citation below). Please let us know how you are using the O-QAR!

Anderson-Butcher, D., Iachini, A., Wade-Mdivanian, R., Gezinski, L., & Gibson, A. (2013). The Ohio Quality Assessment Rubric Guide. Columbus, OH: College of Social Work, Ohio State University.

If you have any questions about any of these tools, please contact us.