Abstract
Physical activity (PA) is important from birth to promote health and motor development. Parents of young children are gatekeepers of opportunities for PA, yet little is known about their perceptions of PA. We describe the development of the Parent Perceptions of Physical Activity Scale (PPPAS) across two studies (N = 241 parents). In Study 1, 143 parents of infants and toddlers recruited from neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and childcare centers completed a 48-item PPPAS. In Study 2, 98 parents of premature infants completed the revised 34-item PPPAS. Study 1 principal components analysis (PCA) identified three components (benefits of, barriers to, and perceived influence on PA), and the scale was reduced. Scores for Perceived Barriers to PA were significantly different between groups, U = 1,108, z = -4.777, p < .0001, with NICU parents reporting more barriers to PA than childcare parents. In Study 2, PCA revealed the same components, and the scale was further reduced to 25 items. Three subscales measuring perceived benefits of, barriers to, and influence over an infant’s PA produced Cronbach’s alphas of .93, .85, .81, respectively. Results demonstrated sufficient construct validity and internal consistency of PPPAS scores, supporting its use in future PA research.
Highlights
National guidelines recommend that starting at birth, infants should engage in daily age appropriate physical activity [1]
We designed the current studies to evaluate a measure (Parent Perceptions of Physical Activity Scale: PPPAS) we developed to assess parent or caregiver perceptions of infant and toddler Physical activity (PA)
The pilot version of the PPPAS was distributed to mothers of infants hospitalized in several neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Southern California
Summary
National guidelines recommend that starting at birth, infants should engage in daily age appropriate physical activity [1]. Physical activity (PA) in infants (described as including exploratory movement, physical interactions with the environment, tummy time, active play, and opportunities to develop movement skills) has been associated with better overall health, development of motor skills, social skills, and maintenance of healthy weight [2]. Recent increases in health problems, including childhood obesity, highlight the importance of the need to actively promote PA as early as during infancy. PPPAS—Infant and toddler version through RO1 HL110163NIH, National Institutes of Health, through L60 MD002127 and the Memorial Care Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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