The development of the Older Persons’ Attitudes Toward Physical Activity and Exercise Questionnaire (OPAPAEQ) is reported. Working from first principles in psychometric test construction, the OPAPAEQ was developed and tested with 471 Canadians aged over 50 years. Through exploratory factor analysis and internal reliability analyses, four subscales were identified and labeled: Tension Release, Health Promotion, Vigorous Exercise, and Social Benefits. The four-factor structure was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Small gender differences were noted on two factors, but no age differences were located. The OPAPAEQ is a tool suitable for further analysis of an age group identified as increasingly important in exercise and health promotion.
Development of a Test to Assess the Attitudes of Older Adults Toward Physical Activity and Exercise
Click name to view affiliation
Search for other papers by Peter C. Terry in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Stuart J.H. Biddle in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Nikolaos Chatzisarantis in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Robert D. Bell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Peter C. Terry is with the Department of Sport Sciences, Brunel University College, Borough Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 5DU, UK. Stuart J.H. Biddle and Nikolaos Chatzisarantis are with the School of Education. University of Exeter. Exeter EX1 2LU, UK. Robert D. Bell is with the School of Physical Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3P1.
© 2025 Human Kinetics