Abstract
Background and aims. In the last 30 years, the continuously increasing number of studies
investigating exercise addiction (EA) stimulated interest in developing instruments assessing the risk
of exercise addiction (REA). One widely used tool is the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI) because
it is a brief, easy-to-use, time-saving, and psychometrically validated tool. However, its items based
on the ‘components model of addiction’ still lack some consistently reported reoccurring symptoms
associated with exercise addiction. This protocol report outlines the methods of developing and
validating an expanded version of the EAI (EAI-3) utilizing a large international sample.
Methods. The EAI-3 will be administered to over 5000 regular adult exercisers in 16 languages through an online survey. The survey will also include questions from the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, the SCOFF questionnaire assessing susceptibility for eating disorders, and the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI). The online study will investigate the factorial structure of the EAI-3 through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, the study will test EAI-3’s measurement invariance across languages and gender. Finally, the study aims to find a standard cutoff point for at-risk exercisers.
Expected results. The study is expected to obtain a good fit of the EAI-3 structure and general measurement invariance. In addition, associations are expected with another EA measure and the other measures of mental health assessed in the study helping to establish concurrent and divergent validity of the EAI-3. Preliminary results suggest good internal reliability for the EAI-3.
Discussion and conclusions. It is expected that the results will support an assessment tool useful in assessing the REA with accuracy and exhibiting reliability across gender and language (culture). Consequently, researchers will be able to assess the risk of exercise addiction more accurately.
Methods. The EAI-3 will be administered to over 5000 regular adult exercisers in 16 languages through an online survey. The survey will also include questions from the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, the SCOFF questionnaire assessing susceptibility for eating disorders, and the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI). The online study will investigate the factorial structure of the EAI-3 through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, the study will test EAI-3’s measurement invariance across languages and gender. Finally, the study aims to find a standard cutoff point for at-risk exercisers.
Expected results. The study is expected to obtain a good fit of the EAI-3 structure and general measurement invariance. In addition, associations are expected with another EA measure and the other measures of mental health assessed in the study helping to establish concurrent and divergent validity of the EAI-3. Preliminary results suggest good internal reliability for the EAI-3.
Discussion and conclusions. It is expected that the results will support an assessment tool useful in assessing the REA with accuracy and exhibiting reliability across gender and language (culture). Consequently, researchers will be able to assess the risk of exercise addiction more accurately.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | PsyArXiv Preprints |
| Antal sider | 13 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - feb. 2022 |