Reliability, validity, and measurement invariance of the German version of the physical activity enjoyment scale.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this work is to examine reliability, factorial- and criterion-related validity, and measurement invariance across age and gender of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale for children and adolescents in the German-speaking population. METHODS Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to questionnaire responses obtained from a cross-sectional sample (Study 1) of 250 girls and 254 boys and a longitudinal sample (Study 2) of 109 boys and 87 girls aged 9 to 17 years. RESULTS Results indicated sufficient test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.76), internal consistency (α = 0.89), and criterion-related validity (r = 0.42 with a physical activity diary; r = 0.16 with accelerometry data). Confirmatory factor analyses partially supported the factorial validity and invariance. CONCLUSIONS The German version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale is sufficiently reliable and valid to be used for German-speaking children and adolescents. Further research examining the invariance over a longer period is warranted.