# Development and Validation of a Perception, Attitude, and Practice of Physical Activity to Support Personalized Physical Activity Promotion Among U.S. Older Adults

## TL;DR

This study created and tested tools to measure how older adults perceive, feel about, and practice physical activity, aiming to help promote personalized physical activity.

## Contribution

The study introduces three validated scales for assessing physical activity perceptions, attitudes, and practices in older adults.

## Key findings

- The PBAS, APAS, and PAPS showed strong content validity and internal consistency.
- EFA and CFA confirmed two subscale constructs for each measure with good reliability.
- The developed scales are reliable and valid for assessing physical activity-related factors in older adults.

## Abstract

Background: This cross-sectional study aimed to develop and validate measures of perceptions, attitudes, and practices to support physical activity among older adults. Method: We enrolled online 310 community-dwelling U.S. older adults and 11 content experts. Using the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices framework, we developed 14, seven, and nine items for the Perceived Physical Activity Benefits Scale (PBAS), Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale (APAS), and Physical Activity Practice Scale (PAPS), respectively. We generated derivation and replication samples using a 30:70 simple random split. Content validity and item analyses were performed on the full sample, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for derivation and replication samples, respectively. Results: Item-level content validity indices for the PBAS, APAS, and PAPS were 0.96, 0.94, and 0.95, respectively. Also, the internal consistencies for the PBAS, APAS, and PAPS were 0.92, 0.77, and 0.91, respectively. Our EFA identified two subscale constructs for each measure, with good subscale reliability. CFA fit index ranges for the PBAS, APAS, and PAPS were 0.90–0.94, 0.97–0.99, and 0.95–0.97. Conclusions: The PBAS, APAS, and PAPS are reliable and valid instruments for assessing perceptions, attitudes, and practices related to physical activity among older adults.