Yihan LIAO, Run TIAN, Zengmin BAI, Yu LIU, Xing ZHANG, Li HUANG, Haowei LIU, Haodong TIAN, Hansen LI
Turkish Journal of Kinesiology - 2025;11(6):354-362
Exercise procrastination refers to the unjustified delay in initiating or continuing planned physical activity despite being aware of its necessity, which undermines adherence to exercise and diminishes health benefits. To fill the gap in measurement tools for exercise procrastination among Chinese university students, this study translated and examined the Chinese version of the Procrastination in Exercise Scale (PES). A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese university students (N = 440), and a subsample (n = 36) completed a retest after two weeks. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the scale's structure and model fit. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were assessed, and convergent validity was examined using the Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS). Results showed that, after allowing the residuals of Items 1 and 3 to correlate, the model achieved acceptable fit indices, and the scale demonstrated good internal consistency. PES was moderately correlated with IPS, providing preliminary evidence of convergent validity. However, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the two-week retest was relatively low, suggesting short-term state fluctuations and insufficient score stability. Overall, the Chinese version of the PES exhibited acceptable structural validity and strong internal consistency among university students, aligning theoretically with general procrastination. Nevertheless, its temporal stability and cross-situational generalizability require further verification in larger samples and at multiple time points.
