Measuring exercise self-efficacy in Hong Kong Chinese adults with cardiovascular risk: Validation of a Chinese version of the Cardiac Exercise Self-efficacy Instrument

About one-third of adults are physically inactive and thus prone to cardiovascular diseases. While self-efficacy mediates health behavior, its influences on exercise behavior among Chinese is yet to be explored by a validated instrument. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Hong Kong Chinese version of the Cardiac Exercise Self-efficacy Instrument (CESEI-C), which had been translated previously by these authors. The psychometric properties of the CESEI-C were tested with 160 Hong Kong Chinese with cardiovascular risk. Participants were asked to complete the CESEI-C, a physical activity assessment tool, and perform the exercise stress test. Exploratory factor analysis identified a unidimensional structure of the CESEI-C. Good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91) and good content validity (content validity indices: 0.93-1.00) had been reported previously. The convergent validity of the CESEI-C was supported by the significant positive correlations between the CESEI-C score and the amount of moderate-to-vigorous exercise (r = 0.18, p = 0.03), and exercise capacity (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). A comparison of CESEI-C scores by exercise capacities indicated that those with moderate-to-high exercise capacity had significantly higher CESEI scores than those with low exercise capacity (t = 2.105, p = 0.04). Thus, the CESEI-C is a valid and reliable instrument to measure exercise self-efficacy among Hong Kong Chinese.