Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
Physical Activity Measurement in Children Accepting Table Tennis Training
Published on: July 27, 2022
Adaptation and cognitive testing of physical activity measures for use with young, school-aged children and their
Janie M Leary1, Christa Ice, Lesley Cottrell
1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. jleary2@hsc.wvu.edu
Background:
Increasing physical activity is one way to address the public health concern of childhood obesity. Physical activity measures for use with young, school-aged children are limited.
Methods:
This study adapted two existing activity measures for young children, specifically self-efficacy and 7-day recall of physical activity.
Results:
Through expert review and cognitive testing, the scales were adapted for use with young, school-aged children (ages 7-9). This article describes how the measures were adapted to insure comprehension of the child self-report measures. Reliability analyses provide support for their use in this population [Cronbach's alpha = 0.76 for the self-efficacy scale; moderate correlation between parent report and child report of child physical activity over the past week (rho = 0.52, P < 0.01].
Conclusions:
Suggestions are offered for researchers interested in using similar methods when designing and adapting physical activity measures for new populations.
