Validation of exercise motivations inventory - 2 (EMI-2) scale for college students.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Exercise Motivations Inventory - 2 (EMI-2) scale would be appropriate to measure college students' exercise motivation. The EMI-2 scale questionnaire was administered to 325 college students in the southwestern U.S. The WINSTEPS program was conducted to analyze Rating Scale Fit, Differential Item Functioning (DIF), and Item fit by applying Rasch rating scale model calibration. A 5-point Likert-type rating scale of the EMI-2 was more appropriate to investigate college students' exercise motivation. Seventeen of 51 items were selected as the DIF, and one item had over standard item fit. Overall, 33 items were finally selected for a new version of the EMI-2 scale for college students. Additionally, Person-Item map showed that person ability and item difficulty were fit matched. This reconstructed EMI-2 scale can be utilized to assess exercise motivations of college students.