Development of a Physical Activity Triggers Questionnaire.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Health Psychology
• Measurement Science

Background:

• Physical activity is crucial for college student health.
• Understanding triggers of physical activity is essential for intervention development.
• No validated questionnaire existed for Chinese college students' physical activity triggers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a Physical Activity Triggers Questionnaire (PATQ) for Chinese college students.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the PATQ.
• To provide a tool for understanding factors influencing physical activity in this population.

Main Methods:

• Developed an initial 18-item questionnaire based on the Fogg behavior model and interviews.
• Conducted item analysis, reliability, and validity tests on 575 students.
• Refined the questionnaire to 14 items and re-evaluated psychometric properties with 621 students using SPSS 26.0.

Main Results:

• The final 14-item Physical Activity Triggers Questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a three-dimensional structure (spark, signal, facilitator triggers).
• High reliability was confirmed (Cronbach's alpha=0.925, split-half=0.821, test-retest=0.860).

Conclusions:

• The developed Physical Activity Triggers Questionnaire is a reliable and valid measure for Chinese college students.
• This tool offers a novel approach to understanding physical activity triggers in this demographic.
• Findings can inform targeted strategies to promote physical activity and improve health outcomes.