Adaptation and cognitive testing of physical activity measures for use with young, school-aged children and their parents

Abstract

Background: Increasing physical activity is one way to address the public health concern of childhood obesity. Physical activity measures for use with young, school-aged children are limited.

Methods: This study adapted two existing activity measures for young children, specifically self-efficacy and 7-day recall of physical activity.

Results: Through expert review and cognitive testing, the scales were adapted for use with young, school-aged children (ages 7-9). This article describes how the measures were adapted to insure comprehension of the child self-report measures. Reliability analyses provide support for their use in this population [Cronbach's alpha = 0.76 for the self-efficacy scale; moderate correlation between parent report and child report of child physical activity over the past week (rho = 0.52, P < 0.01].

Conclusions: Suggestions are offered for researchers interested in using similar methods when designing and adapting physical activity measures for new populations.