Abstract
Background: Identifying the motives why people exercise is interesting for the planning of effective health promoting strategies.
Objectives: To estimate the psychometric properties of the exercise motivations inventory (EMI-2) in Brazilian and Portuguese university students, and to compare motive-related factors for exercise among students.
Methods: One thousand Brazilian (randomly splitted into “Test sample” [n = 498] and “Validation sample” [n = 502]) and 319 Portuguese students participated in this cross-sectional study. Motives for exercise were evaluated using EMI-2. Exploratory factor analysis was performed in the test sample. Then, confirmatory factor analysis was performed in the validation and Portuguese samples. The EMI-2 scores were compared according to sex, exercise, and weight status (ANOVA, α = 5%).
Results: EMI-2 factor model was explained by 5 factors and presented adequate fit (χ2/df ≤ 3.2; CFI ≥ 0.9; TLI ≥ 0.9; RMSEA ≤ 0.07; and α ≥ 0.83). The motives for exercising were mainly related to psychological and interpersonal factors for men, health-related factors for women, and body-related factors for overweight and obese individuals. People who practice exercise had higher EMI-2 scores.
Conclusion: The 5-factor model is suggested for a comprehensive assessment of motives for exercise. Individual characteristics should be considered for development of tailored protocols.
Objectives: To estimate the psychometric properties of the exercise motivations inventory (EMI-2) in Brazilian and Portuguese university students, and to compare motive-related factors for exercise among students.
Methods: One thousand Brazilian (randomly splitted into “Test sample” [n = 498] and “Validation sample” [n = 502]) and 319 Portuguese students participated in this cross-sectional study. Motives for exercise were evaluated using EMI-2. Exploratory factor analysis was performed in the test sample. Then, confirmatory factor analysis was performed in the validation and Portuguese samples. The EMI-2 scores were compared according to sex, exercise, and weight status (ANOVA, α = 5%).
Results: EMI-2 factor model was explained by 5 factors and presented adequate fit (χ2/df ≤ 3.2; CFI ≥ 0.9; TLI ≥ 0.9; RMSEA ≤ 0.07; and α ≥ 0.83). The motives for exercising were mainly related to psychological and interpersonal factors for men, health-related factors for women, and body-related factors for overweight and obese individuals. People who practice exercise had higher EMI-2 scores.
Conclusion: The 5-factor model is suggested for a comprehensive assessment of motives for exercise. Individual characteristics should be considered for development of tailored protocols.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1009762 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Volume | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Nov 2022 |
| Publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
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