The effect of refereeing and playing experience on the level of self-efficacy for handball referees: national and international referees

Abstract EN

Few studies have examined referee self-efficacy in a competitive situation such as team handball.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between handball playing and refereeing experience and referee self-efficacy as well as to investigate the differences in self-efficacy between international and national handball referees.

Handball referees were conveniently selected during the 18th Asian Men’s Handball Championship 2018 and the 2017-2018 Kuwaiti Handball League.

Participants completed an in person demographic information questionnaire as well as the 13-item Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (REFS) (Myers, Feltz, Guillén, & Dithurbide, 2012) which assesses Game Knowledge (GK), Decision making (DM), Pressure (PR), and Communication (CM).

There were significant positive correlations for all Referee Self-Efficacy Scale dimensions with years of refereeing experience.

Past playing experience was correlated with DM.

Number of officiated matches in the last 12 months were significantly correlated with DM and CM.

International referees were significantly more confident in their decision making; in dealing with pressure; and in their communication abilities.

Expertise as an effective factor for enhancing self-efficacy was confirmed and referees should focus on developing technical, physical, and psychological skills in order to achieve superiority in refereeing.

Self-efficacy can be used to differentiate expert from less-experienced handball referees