Reliability of self-report measures of correlates of obesity-related behaviours in Hong Kong adolescents for the iHealt(H) and IPEN adolescent studies

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BackgroundIncreasing emphasis has been placed on improving physical activity levels through multilevel interventions. This study aims to examine moderating effects of neighborhood safety (crime and traffic) and social support (from parent and sibling/peer) for physical activity in the relationship between the built environment and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) outside school hours among adolescents in Melbourne.MethodsData were from the NEighbourhood Activity in Youth study conducted among adolescents in Melbourne, Australia (n = 358, 15.3 (SD = 1.5) years). MVPA outside school hours was assessed by accelerometer. Built environment features within 1 km and 2 km residential buffers including recreation facilities, park area, and walkability and its components were assessed using Geographic Information Systems. Neighborhood safety, social support for physical activity and sociodemographic information were self-reported by adolescents. Multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate associations.ResultsSupport for physical activity from sibling/peer positively moderated the relationship between recreation facilities (1 km), residential density (2 km) and MVPA. Recreation facility (count within 2 km), walkability (1 km and 2 km) and residential density (1 km) had significant positive associations with MVPA outside school hours.ConclusionThe built environment appeared to have stronger facilitating effects on MVPA among adolescents who had favourable support for physical activity from their sibling or peer. Multilevel interventions that target the built environment and social factors are needed to promote MVPA outside school hours among adolescents.

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Built environment and physical activity among adolescents: the moderating effects of neighborhood safety and social support

Loh

Veitch

Salmon

et al. 2019

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“…We examined associations with three potential psychological constructs: self-efficacy for PA, attitude to PA and enjoyment of PA [30, 31]. Six items with a 5-point scale ranging from “I’m sure I can’t” to “I’m sure I can” were used to assess self-efficacy for PA.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of healthier and more sustainable school travel mode profiles among Hong Kong adolescents

Barnett

Akram

Sit

et al. 2019

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Background Adolescent travel mode choices to/from school vary in their physical activity (PA) component and environmental sustainability. Research has typically focussed on correlates of active travel, the most healthy and sustainable mode, in comparison to other modes combined. Under the premise that a small shift from less to more healthy/sustainable modes may be a more feasible than a shift to ‘pure’ active travel (e.g., walking), we examined potential correlates of the odds of undertaking more vs. less healthy/sustainable modes. Methods Hong Kong adolescents attending secondary school and a parent/caregiver ( n = 1299 dyads) participated in this cross-sectional study. Latent profile analyses identified groups of adolescents with different transport mode profiles to/from school. Profiles were ranked based on relative PA/sustainability outcomes. Multilevel logistic regression identified environmental, social and psychological factors associated with more vs. less PA/sustainable transport mode profiles to/from school. Results Most frequent transport modes were walking and public transport. Latent profile analysis resulted in a 7-profile model (walk ( n = 430); walk & public transport ( n = 93); public transport ( n = 486); bicycle, car & taxi ( n = 60); school bus to & public transport from school ( n = 54); school bus ( n = 106); car to & car/public transport from school ( n = 70)). All profile comparisons were associated with at least one environmental variable. School proximity, access to services and parent transport-related PA were generally associated with higher odds of healthier-more sustainable transport modes. Adolescent-perceived distance and effort barriers to walking and cycling were generally associated with lower odds of more healthy/sustainable modes. Discussion Most adolescents engaged in relatively healthy/sustainable travel modes to/from school . Public transport to walking and school bus to public transport mode shifts are likely to have the biggest impact towards more healthy/sustainable modes. Encouraging parent-related transport PA may positively influence adolescent mode choice. Relatively dense, destination-rich neighbourhoods may encourage more healthy/sustainable transport modes to/from school by providing easy access to schools and services. Conclusion Government policy encouraging enrolment in the closest local school and private school encouragement of public transport rather than school buses may have the greatest impact on shifts to more healthy/sustainable transport modes to/from school in Hong Kong adolescents. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10...

“…Due to lack of relevant data, we could not test the retest-reliability of the NEWS-Y-IPEN across the participating sites. However, previously published data from the US and Hong Kong are suggestive of acceptable levels of repeatability [13, 16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…NEWS-Y subscales showed acceptable test-retest reliability and construct validity (i.e., associations with PA), which tended to be higher for responses from parents than adolescents. Safety-related subscales of the NEWS-Y displayed good psychometric properties in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents [16]. However, the factorial validity of the NEWS-Y has never been examined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and validation of the neighborhood environment walkability scale for youth across six continents

Cerin

Conway

Barnett

et al. 2019

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BackgroundThe IPEN International Physical Activity and Environment Network Adolescent project was conducted using common study protocols to document the strength, shape, and generalizability of associations of perceived neighborhood environment attributes with adolescents’ physical activity and overweight/obesity using data from 15 countries. Countries did not use identical versions of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth (NEWS-Y) to measure perceived neighborhood environment attributes. Therefore, this study derived a measurement model for NEWS-Y items common to all IPEN Adolescent countries and developed a scoring protocol for the IPEN Adolescent version of the NEWS-Y (NEWS-Y-IPEN) that maximizes between-country comparability of responses. Additionally, this study examined between- and within-country variability, and construct validity of the NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales in relation to neighborhood-level socio-economic status and walkability.MethodsAdolescents and one of their parents (N = 5714 dyads) were recruited from neighborhoods varying in walkability and socio-economic status. To measure perceived neighborhood environment, 14 countries administered the NEWS-Y to parents and one country to adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to derive comparable country-specific measurement models of the NEWS-Y-IPEN. Country-specific standard deviations quantified within-country variability in the NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales, while linear mixed models determined the percentage of subscale variance due to between-country differences. To examine the construct validity of NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales, we estimated their associations with the categorical measures of area-level walkability and socio-economic status.ResultsFinal country-specific measurement models of the factor-analyzable NEWS-Y-IPEN items provided acceptable levels of fit to the data and shared the same factorial structure with five latent factors (Accessibility and walking facilities; Traffic safety; Pedestrian infrastructure and safety; Safety from crime; and Aesthetics). All subscales showed sufficient levels of within-country variability. Residential density had the highest level of between-country variability. Associations between NEWS-Y-IPEN subscales and area-level walkability and socio-economic status provided strong evidence of construct validity.ConclusionsA robust measurement model and common scoring protocol of NEWS-Y for the IPEN Adolescent project (NEWS-Y-IPEN) were derived. The NEWS-Y-IPEN possesses good factorial and construct validity, and is able to capture between-country variability in perceived neighborhood environments. Future studies employing NEWS-Y-IPEN should use the proposed scoring protocol to facilitate cross-study comparisons and interpretation of findings.