Development of the exercise motivation questionnaire with Mexican American adults.

Prevalence of physical inactivity is the highest among Mexican Americans (40%) as compared to only 18% among Whites. The purpose of this study was to test a culturally relevant exercise motivation instrument with 269 Mexican Americans living along the southern New Mexico border area. Construct validation was supportive with items clustering into five factors consistent with reversal theory constructs explaining 54% of the variance. Further support was achieved with a positive correlation between the Exercise Motivation Questionnaire--Mexican American (EMQ-MA) and the Motives for Activity Participation Questionnaire (r = .10-.77) and with regular exercisers scoring higher on all subscales. Internal consistency values for the subscales ranged from .80 to .90. There is potential for developing individualized exercise interventions based on exercise motivation as measured by the EMQ-MA.