Development and reliability of a scale of physical-activity related informal social control for parents of Chinese pre-schoolers

Abstract

BackgroundParents’ perceived informal social control, defined as the informal ways residents intervene to create a safe and orderly neighbourhood environment, may influence young children’s physical activity (PA) in the neighbourhood. This study aimed to develop and test the reliability of a scale of PA-related informal social control relevant to Chinese parents/caregivers of pre-schoolers (children aged 3 to 5 years) living in Hong Kong.MethodsNominal Group Technique (NGT), a structured, multi-step brainstorming technique, was conducted with two groups of caregivers (mainly parents; n = 11) of Hong Kong pre-schoolers in June 2011. Items collected in the NGT sessions and those generated by a panel of experts were used to compile a list of items (n = 22) for a preliminary version of a questionnaire of informal social control. The newly-developed scale was tested with 20 Chinese-speaking parents/caregivers using cognitive interviews (August 2011). The modified scale, including all 22 original items of which a few were slightly reworded, was subsequently administered on two occasions, a week apart, to 61 Chinese parents/caregivers of Hong Kong pre-schoolers in early 2012. The test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the items and scale were examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), paired t-tests, relative percentages of shifts in responses to items, and Cronbach’s α coefficient.ResultsThirteen items generated by parents/caregivers and nine items generated by the panel of experts (total 22 items) were included in a first working version of the scale and classified into three subscales: “Personal involvement and general informal supervision”, “Civic engagement for the creation of a better neighbourhood environment” and “Educating and assisting neighbourhood children”. Twenty out of 22 items showed moderate to excellent test-test reliability (ICC range: 0.40-0.81). All three subscales of informal social control showed acceptable levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's α >0.70).ConclusionsA reliable scale examining PA-related informal social control relevant to Chinese parents/caregivers of pre-schoolers living in Hong Kong was developed. Further studies should examine the factorial validity of the scale, its associations with Chinese children’s PA and its appropriateness for other populations of parents of young children.

Validity of a scale of neighbourhood informal social control relevant to pre-schoolers’ physical activity: A cross-sectional study

“…Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). In a previous study, these subscales showed substantial to excellent levels of test-retest reliability [intra-class correlations (ICCs) ranged from 0.61 to 0.81] and acceptable to excellent levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.74 to 0.90) ( Suen et al, 2014 ).…”

“…Child-centred PA-related neighbourhood ISC was measured using a 20-item scale developed for Hong Kong Chinese-speaking parents/caregivers of preschool-age children (PANISC-PP) ( Suen et al, 2014 ), with items grouped into three a priori determined subscales: “Personal Involvement and general informal supervision” (5 items; e.g., supervise the neighbourhood children at all times), “Civic engagement for the creation of a better neighbourhood environment” (7 items; e.g., organize meetings with the police and other organizations to promote safety) and “Educating and assisting neighbourhood children” (8 items; e.g., make sure the neighbourhood children do not play in dangerous areas). Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).…”

“…To address the need for an instrument of child-centred PA-related neighbourhood ISC for parents of young children, a preliminary version of a scale (thereafter, PA-related neighbourhood ISC for parents of pre-schoolers or PANISC-PP) was recently developed based on formative qualitative research and expert input to ensure content validity ( Suen, Cerin, & Mellecker, 2014 ). Although the PANISC-PP was developed in a Hong Kong Chinese setting, 13 of its 20 items were identical or comparable to those included in the measure of child-centred neighbourhood ISC developed for a U.S. Latino population ( Cerin et al, 2015 ).…”

“…This makes the PANISC-PP potentially applicable to other populations of parents of preschool-age children. Although the scale showed good test-retest reliability and acceptable levels of internal consistency ( Suen et al, 2014 ), further validation work was necessary as its factorial and construct validities had not been examined. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the factorial and construct validities of the PANISC-PP ( Suen et al, 2014 ).…”

“…Although the scale showed good test-retest reliability and acceptable levels of internal consistency ( Suen et al, 2014 ), further validation work was necessary as its factorial and construct validities had not been examined. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the factorial and construct validities of the PANISC-PP ( Suen et al, 2014 ). Mirroring a previous study on Latino parents ( Cerin et al, 2015 ), construct validity assessment was based on an examination of the associations of dimensions of the PANISC-PP with perceived neighbourhood attributes hypothesised to be positively [community cohesion ( Sampson et al, 1999 ) and traffic safety ( Inclán, Hijar, & Tovar, 2005 )] or negatively [signs of physical and social disorder ( Cradock, Kawachi, Colditz, Gortmaker, & Buka, 2009 ), stranger danger ( Sampson et al, 1999 ) and risk of unintentional injury ( Carver et al, 2008 ; Suen et al, 2014 )] related to child-centred neighbourhood ISC relevant to engagement in PA.…”