Physical activity questionnaire for schoolchildren (PAQS): Reliability and validity of a new proposal according to WHO guidelines

Abstract

The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Schoolchildren (PAQS) was developed for the national surveillance of physical activity (PA) in the adolescent school population of Peru, considering the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). The study aimed to design and confirm the reliability and validity of the Peruvian PAQS for 12 to 17 year-olds. The reliability and validity process involved 1576 adolescent schoolchildren (812 males and 764 females) between 12 and 17 years old belonging to three natural regions of Peru (coast, jungle and highlands). The results showed adequate test-retest reliability (mean daily PA time = .865; mean daily school activities PA time = .829; mean daily free time PA time = .841), except for mean daily PA time in transportation to and from school (.686), where reliability was very close to acceptable (≥ .70). In relation to content validity, optimal values of concordance (Lawshe's Content Validity Ratio = 1.00) and agreement (Fleiss Kappa Validity = .82 to 1.00) between judges were found. And in the concurrent, a very large significant relationship was found (PAQS and PACE in the last week r = .779, p-value = .000; PAQS and PACE in a usual week r = .749, p-value = .000. Reliability and validity results confirmed that the PAQS is suitable and acceptable for measuring PA of adolescent schoolchildren aged 12 to 17 years according to WHO guidelines.