Validation of the exercise-related cognitive errors questionnaire short form

Exercise-related cognitive error represent the extent to which individuals view their exercise engagement through a negative and biased lens. Three datasets were examined to develop a short form of the original 16-item exercise-related cognitive errors questionnaire (E-CEQ) and evaluate evidence of validity. Exploratory factor analysis on datasets 1 (<i>N</i> = 394), 2 (<i>N</i> = 177), and 3 (<i>N</i> = 1027) suggested that a seven-item, one-factor model fit the data. Findings suggested that the ECEQ short form had a unidimensional factor structure that did not vary based on age or gender. As evidence of criterion-related validity, similar magnitude correlations were observed for the E-CEQ short-form (ECEQ-SF) and the original E-CEQ with key exercise variables in datasets 1 and 2 (| <i>rs</i> | ranged from .20 to .76). The ECEQ-SF captures the extent to which individuals view their perceived exercise barriers through a cognitively errored lens.