Development and Initial Validation of the Exercise Behavioral Inconsistency Scale (ExBIS): Factor Structure, Reliability, Measurement Invariance, and Known-Groups Validity.

Many adults hold exercise intentions they do not enact, yet no instrument captures the cognitive-affective experience of this gap. This study developed and validated the Exercise Behavioral Inconsistency Scale (ExBIS), which measures four facets as a profile rather than a summative trait-intention level (IL), intention-action gap (IAG), emotional dissonance (ED), and internal rationalization (IR). Adults in Türkiye (N = 594; 57.9% male; Mage = 21.02 years) completed a 20-item Turkish pool, split into exploratory and confirmatory analyses (n = 297 each); 5 items were removed, yielding 15 items. Parallel analysis and the minimum average partial test supported four factors explaining 67.1% of variance (loadings 0.56-0.96). Confirmatory analysis replicated the structure, χ2(84) = 187.90, CFI = 0.954, RMSEA = 0.065, SRMR = 0.057, outperforming simpler alternatives. Neither a second-order nor a bifactor model supported a general factor (ECV = 0.37, ωH = 0.30), so scores form a four-facet profile rather than a total, clustering weakly into IL/ED and IAG/IR. The McDonald's omega was 0.78-0.90, and full scalar invariance held across gender and exercise-frequency groups. Subscales discriminated frequency groups as hypothesized (ω2 = 0.031-0.081). These cross-sectional data come from a young Turkish convenience sample surveyed in one language, so replication is required.