Physical Environment Scale Research Articles

The validity and reliability of the Malay version of the social support for exercise and physical environment for physical activity scales.

BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the validity of the Malay-translated version scales for assessing the social support and physical environment for exercise activities.MethodThe study was a cross-sectional design in nature, using self-reported questionnaires among the university students in Malaysia. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling approach. Perceptions regarding social support and physical environment were assessed using the Malay-translated version scales. The standard forward-backwards translation was conducted to translate the English version of the scales to the Malay version. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to validate the translated version scales; composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) were computed.ResultsA total of 857 students participated in this study (female: 49.1%, male: 50.9%). The mean age of the participants was 20.2 (SD = 1.6). The fit indices of the initial hypothesized measurement models (social support and physical environment) were not satisfactory. Further improvements were made by adding covariances between residuals' items within the same factor for each hypothesized model. The final re-specified measurement models demonstrated adequate factor structure for the social support scale with 24 items (CFI = .932, TLI = .920, SRMR = .054, RMSEA = .061), and the physical environment scale with five items (CFI = .994, TLI = .981, SRMR = .013, RMSEA = .054). The CR was .918 for family support, .919 for friend support, .813 for perceived availability, and .771 for perceived quality. The AVEs were .560 for family support, .547 for friend support, .554 for perceived availability, and .628 for perceived quality. The intra-class correlation (ICC) based on test-retest was .920 for family support, .984 for friend support, .895 for availability of facilities, and .774 for quality of facilities.ConclusionThe Malay version of the social support scale for exercise and the physical environment scale for physical activity were shown to have adequate psychometric properties for assessing perceived social support and physical environment among the university students in Malaysia.PerspectiveThis study presented the psychometric properties of the social support and physical environment scales based on CFA and was the first to translate these scales from the original English version to the Malay version.

Neighborhood Environment and Falls among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Background: Falls present a major challenge to active aging, but the relationship between neighborhood factors and falls is poorly understood. This study examined the relationship between fall events and neighborhood factors, including neighborhood social cohesion (sense of belonging, trust, friendliness, and helpfulness) and physical environment (vandalism/graffiti, rubbish, vacant/deserted houses, and perceived safety walking home at night). Methods: Data were analyzed from 9259 participants over four biennial waves (2006–2012) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of adults aged 65 and older in the United States. Results: In models adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates, a one-unit increase in neighborhood social cohesion was associated with 4% lower odds of experiencing a single fall (odds ratio (OR): 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93–0.99) and 6% lower odds of experiencing multiple falls (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90–0.98). A one-unit increase in the physical environment scale was associated with 4% lower odds of experiencing a single fall (OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93–0.99) and with 5% lower odds of experiencing multiple falls (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91–1.00) in adjusted models. Conclusions: The physical and social neighborhood environment may affect fall risk among community-dwelling older adults. Findings support the ongoing need for evidence-based fall prevention programming in community and clinical settings.

Validity and reliability of a self-report instrument to assess social support and physical environmental correlates of physical activity in adolescents.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to examine the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity and predictive validity of a new German self-report instrument to assess the influence of social support and the physical environment on physical activity in adolescents.MethodsBased on theoretical consideration, the short scales on social support and physical environment were developed and cross-validated in two independent study samples of 9 to 17 year-old girls and boys. The longitudinal sample of Study I (n = 196) was recruited from a German comprehensive school, and subjects in this study completed the questionnaire twice with a between-test interval of seven days. Cronbach’s alphas were computed to determine the internal consistency of the factors. Test-retest reliability of the latent factors was assessed using intra-class coefficients. Factorial validity of the scales was assessed using principle components analysis. Construct validity was determined using a cross-validation technique by performing confirmatory factor analysis with the independent nationwide cross-sectional sample of Study II (n = 430). Correlations between factors and three measures of physical activity (objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), self-reported habitual MVPA and self-reported recent MVPA) were calculated to determine the predictive validity of the instrument.ResultsConstruct validity of the social support scale (two factors: parental support and peer support) and the physical environment scale (four factors: convenience, public recreation facilities, safety and private sport providers) was shown. Both scales had moderate test-retest reliability. The factors of the social support scale also had good internal consistency and predictive validity. Internal consistency and predictive validity of the physical environment scale were low to acceptable.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate moderate to good reliability and construct validity of the social support scale and physical environment scale. Predictive validity was only confirmed for the social support scale but not for the physical environment scale. Hence, it remains unclear if a person’s physical environment has a direct or an indirect effect on physical activity behavior or a moderation function.

통합체육시설의 물리적 환경이 감정반응 및 지속행동에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of physical environment of inclusive physical activity facility on emotional response and continuous behavior. The subjects for this study totalled 162(male: 111, female: 51) exercising in inclusive physical activity facility at seoul·chungbuk region. Instruments of this study were used Physical environment Scale(Lee & Kim, 1998), Affects(Jeong, 2000) and Continuous behavior Scale(Kim, 2007). The collected data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, reliability analysis(Cronbach`s α), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis in SPSS 12.0 package. The following conclusions were drawn: First, accessibility in physical environment factors had significantly positive effect on affects. Second, accessibility in physical environment factors had significantly positive effect on continuous behavior. Third, positive affects and negative affects had significantly positive effect on continuous behavior.

Development of the communication and physical environment scale

This research develops and tests a communication and physical environment scale (CAPES) which can be used in conjunction with the ICA Communication Audit. The research reported here was conducted in a warehouse where organizational members occupied considerably different physical environments. The results revealed that this instrument was highly reliable, essentially unidimensional, and that it could differentiate between populations with known differences in their physical environment.