Enjoyment of physical activity in rehabilitation settings: Psychometric properties of the eight-item Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES-8) cross-culturally translated into Danish

Objective: To cross-culturally translate and validate a Danish version of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES-8) for rehabilitation patients. Enjoying physical activity supports rehabilitation patients’ incentives to maintain a physically active lifestyle, and PACES-8 makes enjoyment measurable.

Methods and measures: After translation/back-translation, face and content validity were examined by qualitative interviewing four physiotherapists and 12 patients. PACES-8 sum scores range from 8 (lowest) to 56 (highest). Rehabilitation patients (n = 99) responded to PACES-8. Internal consistency and construct validity were examined using explorative factor analysis (EFA), convergent validity with the WHO-5 Wellbeing index, and floor-ceiling effects.

Results: PACES-8 covers hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of enjoyment, although some informants expressed that exercising should be for health, not joy. Immediately after various forms of training, respondents’ median PACES-8 score was 51.0, and WHO-5 scores indicated a moderate/high wellbeing for 87.9%. Group-based and outdoor training were more enjoyable than strength training and individual training. Internal consistency showed a Cronbach alpha value of 0.890. EFA revealed a one-factor structure, low convergent validity, and no floor/ceiling effects.

Conclusion: The Danish version of PACES-8 shows promising psychometric properties for rehabilitation patients. PACES-8 provides the basis for health professionals and patients to collaborate in identifying enjoyable physical activities.