Assessment of beliefs in exercise dependence: The development and preliminary validation of the exercise beliefs questionnaire

Exercise dependence (or addiction) is a clinical condition associated with physical and psychological risk. A critical evaluation of the diverse aetiological models and methodological issues in the assessment of the condition highlighted the need to develop a questionnaire measuring maladaptive beliefs about the consequences of not exercising. The paper describes the development and preliminary validation of the Exercise Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ). Study 1 generated 28 preliminary items for the EBQ based on a semi structured interview (n = 13). In Study 2, the initial EBQ was administered to 201 subjects and the responses factor analysed. Four factors emerged: social desirability (alpha = 0.87), physical appearance (alpha = 0.83), mental and emotional functioning (alpha = 0.89) and vulnerability to disease and ageing (alpha = 0.67). Item total correlations for individual subscales were acceptable. In a further study (n = 78) test-retest reliability was established. In Study 3, the 21 item EBQ was validated against other measures of exercise dependence (n = 120) and was shown to discriminate between samples with clinical levels of depression and anxiety. The clinical and theoretical implications of belief assessment in exercise dependence are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.