Development of a scale to measure the burden caused by exercise

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure the burden caused by exercise and to investigate its reliability and validity. In addition, we examined the score for the burden caused by exercise in different stages of change for exercise.

Method: A questionnaire survey was conducted for 388 participants (male 157, female 231; mean age 46.73 years, SD=12.24). The questionnaire consists of 11 items regarding four types of burden, i.e., psychological, physical, economical and existential burdens.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the list of items has a three-factor structure including “negative consciousness toward exercise”, “difficulty with physical exercise” and “time burden”. The reliability of the scale (α=.738–.781) was confirmed. Correlation coefficient analysis to examine criterion-related validity indicated that the scale for the burden caused by exercise positively correlated with costs (cons) in decisional balance for exercise and negatively correlated with outcome expectations for exercise. Confirmatory factor analyses to examine consistency validity revealed that acceptable fit indices were GFI=.928, AGFI=.884, CFI=.914 and RMSEA=.087. For the subscale score for the burden caused by exercise, we conducted a one-way layout ANOVA using the stage of change for exercise behavior as the independent variable. The results indicated that the score for the burden caused by exercise was higher in the regression stage than in the progressing stage for both males and females.

Conclusion: The results suggested the reliability and validity of the scale for the burden caused by exercise and revealed the difference in burden felt at different stages of change for exercise behavior.