Bronagh McGrane

Physical self-confidence levels of adolescents: Scale reliability and validity.

OBJECTIVES To establish reliability, content validity and concurrent validity of the physical self-confidence scale among adolescents. Demonstrate the use of this scale to assess the physical self-confidence of adolescents across genders at performing specific fundamental movement skills (FMS). DESIGN Three hundred and seventy six adolescents were involved in this study. A 15 item scale was developed to assess physical self-confidence. METHODS The scale was developed based on 15 specific FMS. Experts in the field reviewed the scale to ensure content validity. The reliability of the scale was assessed on a sub-sample of 67 participants who answered the scale 7-days apart. Concurrent validity was assessed on the sub-sample using the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) as a comparative tool. 376 adolescents completed the physical self-confidence scale (mean age=13.78, SD=±1.21, males n=193) to assess gender differences, and also their levels of physical self-confidence across all skills. RESULTS An Intra Class Correlation indicated excellent test retest reliability for the scale with an overall r=0.92. Content validity and concurrent validity were also good, with the scale achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.72 with the PSPP. Males possess significantly higher physical self-confidence than females across all items. CONCLUSIONS This scale is the first reliable and valid tool which specifically measures physical self-confidence in performing FMS among adolescents. The results highlight gender differences in physical self-confidence and emphasise the importance of measuring this at skill level as differences were task specific. This scale will facilitate future research examining the relationship between self-confidence, FMS proficiency and physical activity participation.

The relationship between fundamental movement skill proficiency and physical self-confidence among adolescents

ABSTRACT This study aims to assess fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency, physical self-confidence levels, and the relationship between these variables and gender differences among adolescents. Three hundred and ninety five adolescents aged 13.78 years (SD = ±1.2) from 20 schools were involved in this study. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd Edition (TGMD), TGMD-2 and Victorian Skills Manual were used to assess 15 FMS. Participants’ physical self-confidence was also assessed using a valid skill-specific scale. A significant correlation was observed between FMS proficiency and physical self-confidence for females only (r = 0.305, P < 0.001). Males rated themselves as having significantly higher physical self-confidence levels than females (P = 0.001). Males scored significantly higher than females in FMS proficiency (P < 0.05), and the lowest physical self-confidence group were significantly less proficient at FMS than the medium (P < 0.001) and high physical self-confidence groups (P < 0.05). This information not only highlights those in need of assistance to develop their FMS but will also facilitate in the development of an intervention which aims to improve physical self-confidence and FMS proficiency.

Predictors of segmented school day physical activity and sedentary time in children from a northwest England low-income community

Background: Schools have been identified as important settings for health promotion through physical activity participation, particularly as children are insufficiently active for health. The aim of this study was to investigate the child and school-level influences on children′s physical activity levels and sedentary time during school hours in a sample of children from a low-income community; Methods: One hundred and eighty-six children (110 boys) aged 9–10 years wore accelerometers for 7 days, with 169 meeting the inclusion criteria of 16 h∙day−1 for a minimum of three week days. Multilevel prediction models were constructed to identify significant predictors of sedentary time, light, and moderate to vigorous physical activity during school hour segments. Child-level predictors (sex, weight status, maturity offset, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity self-efficacy, physical activity enjoyment) and school-level predictors (number on roll, playground area, provision score) were entered into the models; Results: Maturity offset, fitness, weight status, waist circumference-to-height ratio, sedentary time, moderate to vigorous physical activity, number of children on roll and playground area significantly predicted physical activity and sedentary time; Conclusions: Research should move towards considering context-specific physical activity and its correlates to better inform intervention strategies.

Evaluation of a Pilot School-Based Physical Activity Clustered Randomised Controlled Trial—Active Schools: Skelmersdale

Schools are key environments in which physical activity (PA) can be promoted. Various strategies and opportunities should be used to engage children in PA within schools. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the multi-component Active Schools: Skelmersdale (AS:Sk) pilot intervention on children’s PA and sedentary time (ST). The AS:Sk intervention was implemented for eight weeks in four schools with three control schools continuing normal practice. It consisted of eight components: active breaks, bounce at the bell, ‘Born To Move’ videos, Daily Mile or 100 Mile Club, playground activity challenge cards, physical education teacher training, newsletters, and activity homework. Child-level measures were collected at baseline and follow-up, including objectively measured PA. After accounting for confounding variables, the intervention had a significant effect on school day ST which was significantly less for the intervention children by 9 min per day compared to the control group. The AS:Sk pilot intervention was effective in reducing school day ST but significant changes in PA were negligible. To increase the efficacy of the current and future school-based interventions, authors should focus on implementation and process evaluations to better understand how schools are implementing intervention components.

The Age-Related Association of Movement in Irish Adolescent Youth

(1) Background: Research has shown that post-primary Irish youth are insufficiently active and fail to reach a level of proficiency across basic movement skills. The purpose of the current research was to gather cross-sectional baseline data on Irish adolescent youth, specifically the prevalence of movement skills and patterns, in order to generate an overall perspective of movement within the first three years (Junior Certificate level) of post-primary education; (2) Methods: Data were collected on adolescents (N = 181; mean age: 14.42 ± 0.98 years), attending two, mixed-gender schools. Data collection included 10 fundamental movement skills (FMS) and the seven tests within the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™). The data set was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 for Windows; (3) Results: Overall, levels of actual mastery within fundamental and functional movement were low. There were statistically significant age-related differences observed, with a progressive decline as age increased in both the object control (p = 0.002) FMS sub-domain, and the in-line lunge (p = 0.048) test of the FMS™; (4) Conclusion: In summary, we found emerging evidence that school year group is significantly associated with mastery of movement skills and patterns. Results from the current study suggest that developing a specifically tailored movement-oriented intervention would be a strategic step towards improving the low levels of adolescent fundamental and functional movement proficiency.

A cross-validation study of the TGMD-2: The case of an adolescent population

OBJECTIVES This study proposes an extension of a widely used test evaluating fundamental movement skills proficiency to an adolescent population, with a specific emphasis on validity and reliability for this older age group. DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. METHODS A total of 844 participants (n=456 male, 12.03±0.49) participated in this study. The 12 fundamental movement skills of the TGMD-2 were assessed. Inter-rater reliability was examined to ensure a minimum of 95% consistency between coders. Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken with a one-factor model (all 12 skills) and two-factor model (6 locomotor skills and 6 object-control skills) as proposed by Ulrich et al. (2000). The model fit was examined using χ2, TLI, CFI and RMSEA. Test-retest reliability was carried out with a subsample of 35 participants. RESULTS The test-retest reliability reached Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.78 (locomotor), 0.76 (object related) and 0.91 (gross motor skill proficiency). The confirmatory factor analysis did not display a good fit for either the one-factor or two-factor model due to a really low contribution of several skills. A reduction in the number of skills to just seven (run, gallop, hop, horizontal jump, bounce, kick and roll) revealed an overall good fit by TLI, CFI and RMSEA measures. CONCLUSIONS The proposed new model offers the possibility of longitudinal studies to track the maturation of fundamental movement skills across the child and adolescent spectrum, while also giving researchers a valid assessment to tool to evaluate adolescent fundamental movement skills proficiency level.