Abstract
Background/aim The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) is one of the most frequently used questionnaires for evaluating moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity in children. However, a Turkish version of the questionnaire was not available. This study aimed to create a Turkish version of the PAQ-C and examine its psychometric characteristics and factor structure.Materials and methods The study was conducted with 784 primary school students (ages 9–14 years). The PAQ-C was examined for content and construct validity and analyzed in terms of reliability. Content validity was evaluated with the content validity index (CVI), construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 388), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 396). For reliability analysis, Cronbach’s alpha and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated. The factor construct was assessed with corrected item total correlations (CITCs).Results The CVI for the PAQ-C was 0.95. EFA revealed a two-factor construct of ‘at school’ and ‘extracurricular’. CFA confirmed the two-factor construct. Factor loadings varied between 0.41 and 0.80. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.77 and ICC was 0.91 for the test-retest for the entire sample. All CITCs were >0.20.Conclusion The PAQ-C is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used for Turkish children.
Highlights
Children and young people today are growing increasingly more inactive
The universe of the study consisted of the students enrolled in the 46 primary schools located in the district of Fatih
The study results showed that the Turkish version of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) that was implemented to assess the moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels of children aged 9–14 was valid and reliable
Summary
Children and young people today are growing increasingly more inactive. Children are walking or riding bicycles less, and cars are the most popular vehicles of transportation. The US Human Health Services Department recommends daily physical activity (PA) of at least 60 min or more for children and adolescents ages 6–17 [1]. The results of the US Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey conducted in 2015 with students in grades 9–12, showed that in the last 7 days before the survey, only 27.1% had engaged in at least 60 min of PA that would raise their heart rates [2]. The increases in insufficient PA levels and in rates of obesity point to the importance of determining the factors that affect the PA level of children and young people and stress the need for programs to increase PA rates.
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