Development and validation of the physical education aversion scale for Japanese junior high school students

This study aimed to identify the structure of Japanese junior high school students’ aversion to physical education (PE) classes and to clarify its characteristics by grade and sex. Following a pilot study, the main study administered a questionnaire survey to 1,247 students attending public junior high schools in Japan. Factor analysis revealed that the ‘PE Aversion Scale’ consisted of five factors: ‘anxiety about evaluation by others’, ‘reluctance to engage in physical activity’, ‘dissatisfaction with the teacher’, ‘awareness of a lack of confidence in one’s physical skills’, and ‘concern about interpersonal relationships’. Analyses of differences by grade and sex revealed an interaction effect for ‘dissatisfaction with the teacher’. Among boys, third-year students scored significantly higher than first- and second-year students, whereas among girls, first-year students scored significantly higher than second-year students. Moreover, among first-year students, girls scored significantly higher than boys. A significant main effect of sex was observed for ‘anxiety about evaluation by others’, ‘reluctance to engage in physical activity’, ‘awareness of a lack of confidence in one’s physical skills’, and ‘concern about interpersonal relationships’, with girls scoring significantly higher than boys. These findings suggest that multifaceted support for learners is necessary to address ‘Taiiku-Girai’ in learning.