Psychometric testing of the Maltese versions of the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale and Exercise Motivation Inventory – 2

Abstract

Background Consideration of psychological factors towards exercise participation is important, especially when placed within a cultural context. Objective The aim of this study was to translate the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale and Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 to Maltese and undertake psychometric testing. Methods Maltese-speaking participants (n = 170) aged 18 to 69 years were recruited. 72% completed both questionnaires twice within an 8-to 48-hour period. Reliability was calculated using the Spearman correlation, intraclass correlation coefficient, and Bland–Altman plots. Convergent construct validity was tested using Spearman correlation between theoretical variables. Results In total 155 participants completed the questionnaires at both time points. The test/re-test reliability of the two questionnaires was >0.7 for all analyses. Correlations for validity were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion The translated tools have similar psychometric properties to the original version; the authors recommend that health care professionals and physical activity practitioners use these tools when examining population-level physical activity behaviour among Maltese-speaking individuals.

Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour with Retirement in Maltese Civil Servants: A Dialectical Mixed-Method Study

“…Data for the QUAN strand was collected using a questionnaire which included the Maltese version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire—long version (IPAQ) [ 24 , 25 ], the Exercise Motivation Inventory—2 (EMI-2) [ 26 , 27 ] and open-ended questions about barriers towards PA in the past 2 weeks [ 28 ]. The translated Maltese versions of the IPAQ and EMI-2 were used as they were found to have good reliability, like the original English version [ 24 , 26 ].…”

“…Rigour for this study considered the QUAN, QUAL, and MM aspects. For the QUAN strand, the tools used to collect data on PA [ 25 , 38 ] and exercise motivations [ 26 , 27 ] were reliable and valid. The study attempted to recruit participants from all the population to attempt generalisability for the population being examined.…”