Introudution and aim:This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Athlete Fear Avoidance Questionnaire (AFAQ). Methods:To achieve this, 120 athletes with different skill levels in various fields completed the AFAQ, along with the Kinesiophobia Questionnaire, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the Sports Injury Appraisal Scale. The AFAQ was confirmed by using the translation-back translation method, face validity, and translation accuracy. Construct validity, internal consistency, and temporal reliability were checked using Cronbach's alpha index, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, and intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: The results showed that the one-factor model of the athletes' fear-avoidance questionnaire had a poor fit. Therefore, after conducting an exploratory factor analysis and identifying three factors in these questionnaires, the confirmatory factor analysis model also fitted the data well with this three-factor model. The CFI index was 0.96, the TLI index was 0.94, and the RMSE index was 0.05. The chi-square ratio to the degree of freedom (X2/DF) was 1.39. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was also confirmed.
Conclusion: Therefore, the Persian version of the AFAQ has three factors and includes ten questions and three catastrophic constructs (items 1, 5, 8), fear of movement (4, 6, 7), and fear-avoidance beliefs (items 2, 3, 9, 10). This was confirmed in the community of Iranian athletes
