Points of Attachment Index

The Points of Attachment Index (PAI) is a multidimensional measurement instrument, developed by Galen Trail, Matthew Robinson, Ronald Dick, and Andrew Gillentine in 2003, that captures the several distinct objects to which sport fans become psychologically attached. Where earlier work treated fan identification as attachment to the team alone, the PAI recognizes that an individual may identify with the players, the coach, the surrounding community, the sport itself, the university or organization, and the level of sport, in addition to the team. Each of these objects is measured as a separate reflective latent factor through multi-item survey scales and validated with confirmatory factor analysis. Robinson and Trail's 2005 study extended the index, showing how these points of attachment relate to spectator motives, gender, and sport preference, and how they differentially predict attendance, loyalty, and consumption behavior.