en روانشناسی ورزشی و شاخه‌های وابسته بدان Sport Psychology and its Related Branches مقاله اصیل Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background. </strong>Mental stress during competition is a crucial psychological factor affecting the performance of both athletes and coaches. It influences focus, decision-making, and the ability to execute skills effectively. This stress often manifests as anxiety or pressure in high-stakes situations. Various psychological scales are used to measure mental stress in sports.<br> <strong>Objectives. </strong>The study aims to construct an Intellectual Competition Stress (ICS) scale for handball coaches in Iraq.<br> <strong>Methods. </strong>This study adheres to the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) methodological guidelines. The research sample consisted of 60 coaches, representing 70.5% of the total study population (85), with an exploratory sample of 4 coaches. A total of 50 statements were developed. The pentatonic scale was used for response collection (always, often, sometimes, rarely, and never), with the corresponding weights being 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The chi-square test was used to assess the experts&#39; agreement and statistically analyze their opinions. In the first stage, a preliminary scale was developed. In the second stage, the scale underwent reliability and validity tests. The proposed fields and their theoretical definitions were then presented to 11 experts to determine the validity of the proposed fields using the content validity index (CVI) (index 1). Test-retest reliability coefficients of 0.77 and Cronbach&#39;s alpha coefficient of 0.80 were calculated, indicating high reliability. The validity and reliability of the responses were assessed, and the scale was reviewed by an 11-member expert panel.<br> <strong>Results. </strong>The coaches&#39; Intellectual Competition Stress index remained moderate (120.52 &plusmn; 18.01, P < 0.05).<br> <strong>Conclusion. </strong>The final version of the ICS scale, comprising 38 statements, was deemed a suitable tool for measuring intellectual competition stress among handball coaches.</div> Competitive Behavior, Behavior Rating Scale, Mental Fatigue, Self-Confidence, Sport Psychology 0 0 http://aassjournal.com/browse.php?a_code=A-11-2390-4&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Fouad Muttib Hussain fouad.hussein@cope.uobaghdad.edu.iq 100319475328460017268 0009-0008-4776-6843 Yes Team Games Department, College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq