A bifactor analysis approach to construct validity and reliability of the affective exercise experience questionnaire among Chinese college students

Abstract

Affective exercise experience as an emerging theoretical concept has great potential to provide a more nuanced understanding of individual factors that influence exercise behavior. However, concerning the Affective Exercise Experiences (AFFEXX) questionnaire, it has not been examined yet whether the structural score of the AFFEXX is a useful index to predict physical activity (refers to any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure). Furthermore, there is currently a gap in knowledge regarding the psychological mechanisms that can explain the relationship between affective exercise experiences and the level of physical activity (PA). In order to adress these gaps in the literature, we conducted two studies among Chinese collge students that aimed (i) to investigated whether the total score of the three AFFEXX-C constructs (antecedent appraisals, core affective exercise experiences, and attraction-antipathy towards exercise) is a relaible indicator that can be utilized in research and pratical settings and (ii) to evalute the specific psychological mechanisms that can explain the relationship between affective exercise experience and PA. In Study 1, we recruited 801 voluntary Chinese college students for bifactor and correlational analyses. In Study 2, 875 Chinese college students were enrolled to verify our findings from Study 1 and to explore the aforementioned mechanism. Results from the bifactor analyses supported our hypothesis that the total scores of the three AFFEXX-C constructs can be used among Chinese college students to establish a link with PA. Additionally, our results suggested that core affective exercise experiences and attraction-antipathy mediated the relationship between antecedent appraisals and the level of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA. Therefore, measuring affective exercise experiences using the AFFEXX-C, specifically the total scores of each individual construct may be a useful approach to predict future PA levels.