Bifactor Analysis of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES)

Background: Enjoyment is an affective state that promotes physical exercise and involves feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and fun. The revised version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) revealed a unidimensional factor structure. However, its adaptation in multiple cultural contexts yielded discordances in its dimensionality Objective: The present study provides evidence on the internal structure of the PACES adapted to the Argentine cultural context. Method: : 253 adult residents of the province of Buenos Aires participated. The comparison of different measurement models was implemented, including the analysis of a bifactor model. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the fit of the different models. Evidence of discriminant validity was also obtained from self-reported physical exercise. Results: The exclusion of one item allowed a satisfactory fit of the model with a two-factor correlated structure. Likewise, the bifactor model presented an equally satisfactory fit chi 2 (89) = 179.589 with CFI = .98, TLI = .97 and RMSEA = .074, with values of LCA = .81 and PUC = .51. Conclusion: The evidence indicates good psychometric properties, allowing the calculation and interpretation of a total score that explains the variability of the items, simultaneously with the specific factors.