Non-Parametric Exploratory Factor Analytic Exploration of Latent Psychological Determinants of Peak Performance

This study examined the latent psychological determinants of sports performance using asequential exploratory mixed-methods design that integrated inductive thematic analysis withquantitization and non-parametric exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Data were collected from20 elite athletes and 20 coaches (N = 40) representing individual and team sports, yielding 450qualitative responses that were thematically coded into 22 psychological indicators. A tetrachoric correlation matrix and Promax (oblique) rotation were used to identify fiveinterpretable factors, acknowledging the potential correlation among psychological constructs.All items demonstrated strong factor loadings (> .60), and each factor was defined by three to five indicators, satisfying established criteria for factor stability and identification. The extracted structure accounted for 91% of the total variance, indicating a highly robust and coherent latent framework. Consistent with prior methodological evidence that EFA can yield stable solutions in small samples when communalities are high and factor structures are well defined, the results confirm the validity of the derived psychological dimensions. Collectively, the findings provide a culturally grounded and psychologically valid framework for profiling Indian athletes and for designing context-specific performance training and coaching programs.