The Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3) Portuguese-Version: Evidence of Reliability, Validity and Invariance Across Gender

This study has as prime objective to analyze the psychometric properties of the Behavioral Regulation Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3) in a sample of Portuguese exercisers and invariance across gender. Two independent samples (448 calibration; 374 validation), aged between 16 and 78 years (<i>M</i> = 40.29; <i>SD</i> = 16.24), of both gender, (495 female; 327 male) were enrolled in this study. The results show that the original model (six factors; 24 items) did not fit to the data in a satisfactory way (χ² = 977.49; df = 237; B-S <i>p</i> < 0.001; SRMR = 0.07; NNFI = 0.80; CFI = 0.83; RMSEA = 0.08; 90% CI = 0.08-0.09). After removing six items (one for each factor), the model (six factors; 18 items) adjustment improved in a satisfactory way in both samples: calibration (χ² = 331.86; df = 120; B-S <i>p</i> < 0.001; SRMR = 0.06; NNFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.06; 90% CI 0.06-0.07) and validation (χ² = 254.08; df = 120; B-S <i>p</i> < 0.001; SRMR = 0.04; NNFI = 0.93; CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.06; 90% CI = 0.05-0.06). Results also showed model invariance across gender (ΔCFI ≤ 0.01). The Portuguese version of BREQ-3 (six factors; 18 items) is a valid and reliable measurement instrument to measure behavior regulation underlying self-determination theory in the exercise domain. However, the evidence also indicated that additional studies are needed to address the fragilities of the original model (six factors; 24 items).