Development of An Instrument to Examine Environmental Correlates of Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors

Abstract

PURPOSE: Environmental correlates of children's physical activity have been extensively studied in western countries. There is a paucity of evidence on reliable instrument to measure a variety of environmental influences (Hume et al., 2006). The purpose of this study was to develop and test the reliability of an instrument which examined the potential correlates of children's physical activity and sedentary behavior at home and in the neighborhood. METHODS: A questionnaire which incorporated self-reported and parent-reported items was developed based on the social ecological model to evaluate the environmental factors influencing children's physical activity and sedentary behavior. The questionnaire was administrated twice, with 8 to 10 days apart, among a sample of 60 children aged 10-13 years and their parent. Children were asked about the self efficacy and perceived environments at home and in the neighborhood. Parents were required to report information on their age, education, occupation, weight status, physical activity and sedentary behavior, control and guidance on their child's behavior and perception of physical environment in the neighborhood. Test-retest reliability of individual item was determined using percent agreement and kappa values for categorical variables and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for continuous variables. RESULTS: The categorical variables in parent-reported items showed the acceptable reliability with kappa statistics ranged from 0.55 to 0.89 and percent agreement ranged 90% to 100%. All ICC values for continuous variables in parent-reported items were higher than 0.70, which indicated the good test-retest reliability. For self-reported items, percent agreements for categorical variables ranged from 88% to 98% and kappa statistic ranges were 0.52 to 0.93. ICC values for children's self-efficacy in participating in physical activity ranged from 0.69 to 0.91. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggested that the developed questionnaire is reliable in examining environmental correlates at home and in the neighborhood among 10-13 years old children.