RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The exercise addiction inventory: a quick and easy screening tool for health practitioners
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP e30
OP e30
DO 10.1136/bjsm.2004.017020
VO 39
IS 6
A1 Griffiths, M D
A1 Szabo, A
A1 Terry, A
YR 2005
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/39/6/e30.abstract
AB Background: Exercise addiction is not routinely screened for probably because available instruments take a long time to administer, their scoring may be complicated, and their interpretation is not always obvious. A new psychometric instrument has been developed that is capable of identifying people affected by, or at risk of, exercise addiction: the exercise addiction inventory (EAI). A preliminary report showed the EAI had good reliability and validity. Objectives: To test further the EAI’s psychometric properties and show that it would be quick and simple to administer by general practitioners. Methods: A sample of 200 habitual exercisers were given the EAI and two existing exercise addiction scales (obligatory exercise questionnaire; exercise dependence scale). Two weeks later, another sample of 79 exercisers were administered the EAI to determine the test-retest reliability of the questionnaire. Results: The original data from the preliminary report were reanalysed to determine the split half correlation of the EAI. This was found to be 0.84 (Guttman split-half coefficient). A correlation between weekly frequency of exercising and EAI scores was also determined, and it was found that the two variables shared 29% of the variance (r2  =  0.29). The test-retest reliability of the scale was found to be very good (0.85). Conclusions: The EAI is a valid and reliable tool which would be capable of helping general practitioners to quickly and easily identify people affected by, or at risk of, exercise addiction.