Psychometric testing of the Maltese versions of the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale and Exercise Motivation Inventory - 2.

Background: Consideration of psychological factors towards exercise participation is important, especially when placed within a cultural context.

Objective: The aim of this study was to translate the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale and Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 to Maltese and undertake psychometric testing.

Methods: Maltese-speaking participants (n = 170) aged 18 to 69 years were recruited. 72% completed both questionnaires twice within an 8-to 48-hour period. Reliability was calculated using the Spearman correlation, intraclass correlation coefficient, and Bland-Altman plots. Convergent construct validity was tested using Spearman correlation between theoretical variables.

Results: In total 155 participants completed the questionnaires at both time points. The test/re-test reliability of the two questionnaires was >0.7 for all analyses. Correlations for validity were statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The translated tools have similar psychometric properties to the original version; the authors recommend that health care professionals and physical activity practitioners use these tools when examining population-level physical activity behaviour among Maltese-speaking individuals.