Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Psychometric Evaluation of the European Portuguese Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale in Higher Education Students.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) assesses perceived benefits and barriers to exercise, but no European Portuguese version had been psychometrically evaluated. This study aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and evaluate the measurement properties of the EBBS in higher education students. METHODS: A methodological cross-sectional study included translation, cross-cultural adaptation, content validity assessment, and psychometric evaluation in 324 students; 72 completed a seven-day retest. Structural validity, internal consistency, corrected item-total correlations, test-retest reliability, measurement error, floor and ceiling effects, and construct validity were examined. RESULTS: The adaptation process supported content validity. The second-order confirmatory factor analysis yielded χ2/df = 2.512, CFI = 0.808, TLI = 0.797, RMSEA = 0.068, and SRMR = 0.0774, providing only partial and limited support for the original 43-item factorial structure. Cronbach's alpha was 0.944 for Benefits, 0.831 for Barriers, and 0.926 for the total score. Test-retest reliability was acceptable (ICC = 0.784-0.847), and no problematic floor or ceiling effects were observed. Construct validity evidence was mixed for exercise motivation but more consistent for physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and exercise participation. CONCLUSIONS: The European Portuguese EBBS is culturally appropriate and shows favourable reliability, interpretability, and evidence for several aspects of construct validity. However, the original factorial structure is not adequately confirmed. Generalisability is limited by the single-institution convenience sample, predominantly comprising female and health-school students. Further evaluation in larger, more diverse samples is required.