Assessment of Physical Activity Behavior in Adolescents Through a Self-Report Tool

Abstract

<p>Schools routinely assess physical fitness during physical education but a key need is a tool to assist schools in analyzing physical activity behaviors. The Youth Activity Profile (YAP) is a simple 15 item selfreport questionnaire designed to make it easy for schools to capture the behaviors related to physical activity. Currently, there are two different versions of the YAP (print and online), which have been developed to accommodate various schools. The purpose of this study was to compare the reliability and utility of the two versions (print and online) in three groups: 5th, 7th, and 9th grades by randomly assigning them to complete one version. The research team provided information regarding the YAP throughout completion. A study population of 356 students aged 11-15 years was obtained; the reliability analyses indicate week one YAP scores corresponded to the YAP scores reported two weeks later. In turn, the equivalence analyses followed parallel results, revealing similarities in results from both YAP versions (print and online) at the two designated data collection instances. Varying obstacles make it challenging to assess children’s physical activity behavior, however the results show the YAP can be feasibly completed during school PE to provide supplemental information regarding physical activity.</p>