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Abstract
Evidence indicates that sedentary time, particularly TV viewing and playing computer/video games, is likely an independent risk factor for children being overweight. Valid measures of psychosocial constructs related to sedentary behaviors are needed to better understand this behavior. In this study, we develop and validate measures of decisional balance and self-efficacy for reducing sedentary behaviors. In a sample of 878 adolescents, the measurement structure of the constructs was tested in a series of confirmatory factor analyses that indicated excellent model fit and structural invariance between boys and girls. Expected patterns across stages of change provided construct validity evidence. These findings provide psychometric support for psychosocial measures related to adolescent sedentary behaviors. The measures can be useful in the development and assessment of interventions designed to reduce adolescent sedentary time.
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by grants CA81495-01A2 and CA85873 from the National Cancer Institute. Portions of this article were presented at the Society of Behavioral Medicine's 23rd Annual Sessions, Washington DC, April, 2002.
Notes
Because the items for the pros/cons scale were newly developed for this study, the correlation between the error terms for these two items could represent shared method variance. However, one should be cautious when interpreting this relation until it has been validated further.