Assessment of Barriers to Physical Activity Practice: Spanish Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Reliability and Validity of the Barriers to Being Active Quiz.

Abstract

The general population struggles to meet physical activity recommendations, risking mental and physical health. Validated, culturally adapted tools are essential for identifying barriers and implementing effective, context-specific strategies to promote exercise participation. Despite its wide use, the cross-cultural equivalence, and psychometric properties of the Barriers to Being Active Quiz (BBAQ) have not been confirmed. The purpose of this study was to validate the BBAQ cross-culturally into European Spanish (BBAQ-ES). Following international guidelines, the BBAQ underwent a systematic four-step process involving a multidisciplinary translation, synthesis, reconciliation, review, and a population-based comprehensibility test. Measurement properties-including structural and construct validity, and internal consistency, measurement error and test-retest reliability-were assessed following COSMIN guidelines on a sample of 589 Spanish University students. The IPAQ-SF was used as comparator instrument during hypothesis testing for construct validity (i.e. convergent, and discriminative validity). The BBAQ-ES demonstrates strong cross-cultural equivalence and good measurement properties (RMSEA = 0.0485, CFI = 0.946; Cronbach's alpha = 0.875; ICC = 0.724 -0.878; confirmed hypotheses testing >75%). The BBAQ-ES is a cross-culturally adapted, reliable and valid measure to assess multidimensional obstacles to physical activity. This study provides valuable new insights for international research and clinical practice.