Validity, reliability, and factorial invariance of the Greek version of the physical activity perceived barriers scale.

he study aimed to examine the validity, reliability, and factorial invariance across gender of the PAPBS (Physical Activity Perceived Barriers Scale) in Greek children. 613 students (322 boys and 291 girls) from a city of Greece completed the above scale in 3 periods during a school year. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied. Strong evidence was found for the hypothesized second-order factor structure of the physical activity perceived barriers scale in the 3 measurements (comparative fit index = 0.951, 0.933, 0.922, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.061, 0.069, 0.074). The scale’s internal consistency was supported satisfactorily, whereas correlations coefficients between scale and several physical activity scores were significant moderate to high. Finally, results provided support of the invariance of the first- and second-order factor loadings and invariance structural residuals, but weak support of the invariance of the residual variance of observed variables of the examined scale across gender. The findings suggest that physical activity perceived barriers scale is appropriate for use with Greek children and it is considered as a useful tool for researches interested in studying the children’s participation in physical activity.