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 (α = 0.87), physical appearance (α = 0.83), mental and emotional functioning (α = 0.89) and vulnerability to disease and ageing (α = 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.