Validity and Reliability of the Chinese Translation of Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale

Abstract

The current study examined some psychometric properties of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES; Vlachopoulos & Michailidou, 2006 ) in a group of Chinese university students in Hong Kong. A total of 460 undergraduate students were invited to take part in this study. We examined the factorial validity, discriminant validity, nomological validity, internal reliability, and measurement invariance across sex of a Chinese translation of the BPNES. The findings demonstrated that the scale had a good factorial validity and satisfactory internal reliability. Measurement invariance analysis indicated that the factor loadings and factor variance as well as covariance of measurement structure were invariant across male and female participants. Nomological validity was supported by the results of SEM analysis. Overall, the current study provided initial evidence for the validity and reliability of a Chinese translation of BPNES, and suggested that this scale could be used to measure satisfaction of psychological needs in the exercise field of Hong Kong undergraduate students.