Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity among Hispanic...

The objective of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to better understand barriers and facilitators to physical activity among low-income, Hispanic youth.

Low-income Hispanic middle and high school students were recruited to participate in this study from a public charter school district in Houston, TX. Questionnaire development and psychometric validation included scale development and question pretesting, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), construct validity, and test-retest reliability of the scales.

EFA resulted in three subscales for the Barriers to Youth Physical Activity (BYPA) scale: competing interests, environmental interests, and social barriers. CFA suggested that this three-factor model fit data adequately after removing two items that had high loading on all three factors. The BYPA subscales were internally consistent and stable. All three BYPA subscale scores were negatively correlated with self-reported physical activity. EFA for the facilitators to youth physical activity (FYPA) scale resulted in three subscales: enjoyment, family support, and socialization. CFA suggested that this three-factor model fit data adequately after removing one item that had high loading on all three factors. The FYPA subscales were internally consistent and stable. All three FYPA subscale scores were significantly positively correlated with physical activity.

The development and validation of the BYPA and FYPA scales resulted in a total of six valid subscales for assessing barriers and facilitators to physical activity among low-income, Hispanic youth. The developed subscales have the potential to assist future efforts in designing physical activity interventions to better address disparities in physical activity levels among this population.