Test-Retest Reliability and Validity Results of the Youth Physical Activity Supports Questionnaire

As youth obesity rates remain at unacceptably high levels,particularly across underserved populations, the promotion of physical activity hasbecome a focus of youth obesity prevention across the United States. Thus, the purposeof this study was to develop and test the reliability and validity of a self-reportedquestionnaire on home, school, and neighborhood physical activity environments for youthlocated in low-income urban minority neighborhoods and rural areas. Third-, fourth-, andfifth-grade students and their parents were recruited from six purposively selectedelementary schools (three urban and three rural). A total of 205 parent/child dyadscompleted two waves of a 160-item take-home survey. Test-retest reliability wascalculated for the student survey and validity was determined through a combination ofparental and school administrator responses, and environmental audits. The majority(90%) of measures had good reliability and validity (74%; defined as ≥70% agreement).These measures collected information on the presence of electronic and play equipment inyouth participants’ bedrooms and homes, and outdoor play equipment at schools, as wellas who youth are active with, and what people close to them think about being active.Measures that consistently had poor reliability and validity (≤70% agreement) wereweekly activities youth participated in and household rules. Principal componentsanalysis was also used to identify 11 sub-scales. This survey can be used to helpidentify opportunities and develop strategies to encourage underserved youth to be morephysically active