Psychometric Characteristics of the Physical Education Activities Scale

Abstract

Measuring adolescent perceptions of physical education (PE) activities is necessary in understanding determinants of school PE activity participation. The purpose of this study was to test initial estimates of reliability and validity of a new scale assessing high school adolescent perceptions of school PE activity with the Physical Education Activities Scale (PEAS). The 41-item visual analog scale consisted of 6 subscales: Self-Efficacy, PE Enjoyment, Personal Factors Influencing PE Participation, Behavioral Control, Barriers, and Subjective Norms that were tested on a sample (N = 90) interurban high school adolescents Grades 9-12. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the total PEAS was alpha = .89, and for the subscales alpha ranged from .57-.81. Using known-groups analysis with male vs. female data, initial estimates of construct validity were supported with t tests for the total scale showing boys scoring significantly higher than girls for the total scale (t = -3.26, df = 88, p = .002) and for 5 of the 6 subscales: Self-Efficacy (t = -2.65, df = 88, p = .01); PE Enjoyment (t = -3.05, df = 88, p = .003); Personal Factors Influencing PE Participation (t = -2.66, df = 88, p = .009); Behavioral Control (t = -2.20, df = 88, p = .03), and Barriers (t = -3.41, df = 88, p = .001). There was not a gender difference for the subjective norms subscale. Evidence indicated that the PEAS was sensitive enough to distinguish between female and male perceptions in the expected direction on factors that influence PE activity participation. The PEAS demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity evidence in measuring adolescents' perception of school PE activities.