Psychometric properties of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) in the Spanish context

The study sought to validate the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (Motl et al., 2001) within the Spanish context. A sample of non-competitive physical-sport activity practitioners, 12 to 54 years of age, was used. A statistical analysis of the items, an exploratory factor analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis and a reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha were carried out. The results revealed that the scale is a valid and reliable tool to measure sport enjoyment in order to look for external evidences of validity, sport enjoyment was related to different ways of motivation established by the self-determination theory. Enjoyment was, on the one hand, found to be positively and significantly associated with intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. On the other, it was negatively and significantly related with external regulation and amotivation. Future studies will analyse the scale's validity and reliability with different populations and other type of statistical analyses.