The validity and reability of the exercise benefit/barrier scale for female Turkish students

Objective: It is well-established that adults who incorporate sufficient physical activity into their daily routines receive health benefits. One population group members threatened by an extremely high risk from inactivity are adolescent girls.
This study aims to test the validity and reliability of the Exercise Benefit/Barriers Scale (EBBS) for female university students in Turkey. The research was planned according to the methodological research method.
Material Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 409 students of the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GMMA) School of Nursing (97, 1%). In the study a 3-part questionnaire was used. The EBBS used in the study, in order to determine the participants’ benefit-barrier perceptions was developed by Sechrist.

Results: The EBBS validity coefficient was found to be 0,87 (re-test =0,85) for the whole scale, 0,95 (re-test=0,94) for the EBBS benefit and, 0,80 (re-test=0,79) for the EBBS barrier. Physical performance and preventive health are given the highest scores by participates within the EBBS’s benefit subscales. The exercise barrier subscale with the lowest score was “exercise milieu”.
Conclusion: Determining the benefits of and barriers to exercise by using a standardized scale plays an important rule in maintaining proper levels of physical activity. The Turkish translation of the EBBS model has shown to be an effective tool in measuring physical activity among female Turkish university students. it is possible that it can also be applied to males in comparable demographics, as well as to several other groups.