Development and Validation of the COM-B Physical Activity Questionnaire (COM-B PAQ)

Development and Validation of the COM-B Physical Activity Questionnaire (COM-B PAQ) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Development and Validation of the COM-B Physical Activity Questionnaire (COM-B PAQ) Laura Cambar, Dr Philip Hurst, Guy Griffiths, Adam Campbell, Dr Hayley Mills, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8158857/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background To provide researchers and practitioners with evidence-based tools for identifying less active individuals and, in turn, help implement more effective physical activity interventions, a need exists to develop valid and reliable measurement tools. The COM-B model, which conceptualises behaviour as the interaction of Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation, provides a framework for understanding physical activity. Importantly, the COM-B guides intervention design through the Behaviour Change Wheel and Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy. This study therefore aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire that assesses perceived Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation to be physically active, grounded in the Theoretical Domains Framework, with its domains mapped onto COM-B constructs. Methods Development and validation occurred over four studies: (1) item generation and assessing content and face validity ( n = 9); (2) assessment of model fit ( n = 491); (3) confirming convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity ( n = 349); and (4) establishing test-retest reliability ( n = 58). Results In study 1, an initial item pool consisted of 106 items, which was refined to 59 through expert review and pilot testing. In study 2, confirmatory factor analysis resulted in three models representing three subscales: Capability, Opportunity and Motivation, each comprising 15 factors aligned with the Theoretical Domains Framework, resulting in a final 37-item questionnaire. In Study 3, he questionnaire demonstrated strong concurrent validity, with significant positive correlations with similar established measures, and Study 4 confirmed the test-retest reliability. Conclusion The COM-B PAQ is a psychometrically robust, valid, and reliable questionnaire with good discriminative capacity. It offers researchers and practitioners a new evidence-based tool to assess perceived barriers and enablers to physical activity, supporting the design of tailored and targeted interventions. behaviour change assessment psychometrics intervention Transtheoretical Domains Framework Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 22 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 21 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 28 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8158857","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":554836499,"identity":"5e8ce406-976e-45b1-83f9-1541c635ea4b","order_by":0,"name":"Laura 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version\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure4AMOSModelforMotivationScale8items16factors.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8158857/v1/9b9614079337aeeda6e99af9.png"},{"id":97677759,"identity":"62487a9e-e844-42f0-bd6b-c6015297547c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 09:54:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":906088,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8158857/v1_covered_debe5ec8-76d1-4519-ba4e-d2f0b28b9f0f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Development and Validation of the COM-B Physical Activity Questionnaire (COM-B PAQ)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-journal-of-behavioral-nutrition-and-physical-activity","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ijbn","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity](http://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijbn/default.aspx","title":"International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity","twitterHandle":"@IJBNPA","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"behaviour change, assessment, psychometrics, intervention, Transtheoretical Domains Framework","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8158857/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8158857/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBackground\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo provide researchers and practitioners with evidence-based tools for identifying less active individuals and, in turn, help implement more effective physical activity interventions, a need exists to develop valid and reliable measurement tools. The COM-B model, which conceptualises behaviour as the interaction of Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation, provides a framework for understanding physical activity. Importantly, the COM-B guides intervention design through the Behaviour Change Wheel and Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy. This study therefore aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire that assesses perceived Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation to be physically active, grounded in the Theoretical Domains Framework, with its domains mapped onto COM-B constructs.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDevelopment and validation occurred over four studies: (1) item generation and assessing content and face validity (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9); (2) assessment of model fit (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;491); (3) confirming convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;349); and (4) establishing test-retest reliability (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;58).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn study 1, an initial item pool consisted of 106 items, which was refined to 59 through expert review and pilot testing. In study 2, confirmatory factor analysis resulted in three models representing three subscales: Capability, Opportunity and Motivation, each comprising 15 factors aligned with the Theoretical Domains Framework, resulting in a final 37-item questionnaire. In Study 3, he questionnaire demonstrated strong concurrent validity, with significant positive correlations with similar established measures, and Study 4 confirmed the test-retest reliability.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe COM-B PAQ is a psychometrically robust, valid, and reliable questionnaire with good discriminative capacity. It offers researchers and practitioners a new evidence-based tool to assess perceived barriers and enablers to physical activity, supporting the design of tailored and targeted interventions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Development and Validation of the COM-B Physical Activity Questionnaire (COM-B PAQ)","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-05 00:16:20","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8158857/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-23T03:28:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-21T22:22:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-12-15T23:02:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"105112227982140199790913432700553692717","date":"2025-12-03T17:43:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"199758578231546341424637529089928357097","date":"2025-12-02T19:34:59+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-02T16:57:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-28T13:43:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-28T13:42:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity","date":"2025-11-19T22:19:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-journal-of-behavioral-nutrition-and-physical-activity","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ijbn","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity](http://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijbn/default.aspx","title":"International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity","twitterHandle":"@IJBNPA","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"63a1af5d-cafc-4d55-82f9-f269ce8c19d5","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-09T18:24:18+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-05 00:16:20","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8158857","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8158857","identity":"rs-8158857","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}