Procrastinating Exercise Initiation: Exercise Procrastination Scale (EPS)

Aim: Engaging in exercise is a multifaceted behavioral process shaped by individual social and environmental influences, yet delaying exercise remains a common occurrence. Developing a scale that elucidates the reasons underlying exercise procrastination is crucial for understanding, measuring, and devising intervention strategies to address individuals' tendencies to defer exercise. In this context, this study seeks to develop and evaluate a scale that facilitates the investigation and understanding of the factors contributing to exercise procrastination. Material and Methods: The research, structured using a survey model, involves a participant group of 1,060 individuals aged 18 to 55 who do not regularly engage inexercise. The scale items were formulated based on a comprehensive literature review and expert consultations in the field. Results: Following exploratory factor analysis, a measurement structure comprising three sub-dimensions, namely time, motivation, and anxiety, with a total of 10 items, was obtained. The scale's reliability was evaluated through various measures, including Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency, average variance extracted, composite reliability, and the reliability coefficient. The analyses revealed that the scale exhibited Cronbach's alpha coefficients, reliability coefficients, and composite reliability values above 0.70 for all sub-dimensions, as well as an average variance extracted above 0.50. Conclusion: Consequently, the scale created in this research can be deemed a reliable and valid assessment tool. It can serve to explore the causes of exercise procrastination and to formulate intervention strategies.