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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Prev Med. 2018 Feb 9;110:47–54. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.02.009

Table 2.

Study measures. The study was conducted in the Baltimore, Maryland-Washington, DC and Seattle-King County, Washington metropolitan areas 2009–2011.

Variable Reference Description/sample items Number of items; response options Subscale score used in analyses Psychometric properties (reference)
Physical Activity (PA)
Total MVPA
(Accelerometer)
Welk 2002 (23) Models: Actigraph 7164, 71256, GT1M, GT3X.
Epoch: 30 seconds.
Nonwear definition:30 min consecutive ‘0’ counts.
Valid day: 10 hrs.
Cut points: Freedson 3 METS; Evenson moderate.
Requested wear time: 7 days (rewear requested if < 5 valid wearing days including 1 weekend).
Data processing software: MeterPlus.
NA Average minutes of MVPA per valid wearing day Freedson et al., 1997 (24), Evenson et al., 2008 (25), Cain et al., 2013 (26)
Active transport, non-school
(Adolescent survey)
Developed by investigators Typical frequency of walking or bicycling to/from 9 locations (e.g., recreation facility, friend’s house, park, food outlet) and skateboarding to various places. 10 items;
0=never,
1=≤ once/month, 2=once every other week, 3=once/week,

4=2-3 times/week,
5= 4+ times/week.
Mean of 10 items to represent average frequency of active transportation NA
Active transport, to/from school
(Adolescent survey)
Adapted from Centers for Disease Control Kids-Walk-to-School program (CDC, 2012)(27) Number of days per week they traveled both to and from school by walking, bicycling or skateboarding. 10 items;
To school (5 items) and from school (5 items): Scored 0-5 days.
Total number of active trips per week to and from school were summed (range = 0-10 trips). Test-retest ICCs ranged from .51 to .84, and percent agreement from 73% to 95%. Timperio et al., 2006 (28); Joe et al., 2012 (29)
PA in or near home
(Adolescent survey)
Adapted from Sallis et al., 1993 (30) Typical frequency of being physically active in 7 common settings in or near home (e.g., home, nearby street, local park) 7 items;
0=never,
1=≤ once/month, 2=once every other week, 3=once/week,
4=2-3 times/week,
5= 4+ times/week.
Mean of 7 items to represent the average frequency of being physically active in our near home. Test-retest ICC’s ranged from .31 to .65. Joe et al., 2012 (29)
Total PA, outside of school
(Adolescent survey)
Prochaska et al., 2000 (31) Number of days per week adolescent was physically active at least 60 minutes outside of PE or gym class (a) during the past 7 days and (b) during a typical week 2 items;
Scored 0-7 days
Mean of 2 items to represent average days meeting PA guidelines (60+ min/day) Excellent test-retest reliability and criterion validity. Prochaska 2000 (31)
Sports and PA classes, outside of school
(Adolescent survey)
Adapted from item developed by investigators Number of sports teams or physical activity classes (excluding PE) adolescent participated in outside of school 1 item;
0=0,
1=1,
2=2,
3=3,
4=4 or more.
Number of teams/classes used as continuous variable. Test-retest of original item, ICC
= .65. Joe et al., 2102 (29)
Sedentary Time
Total sedentary time
(Accelerometer)
Welk 2002 (23) Models: Actigraph 7164, 71256, GT1M, GT3X.
Epoch: 30 seconds.
Non wear definition:30 min consecutive ‘0’ counts.
Valid day: 10 hrs.
Cut points: Freedson 3 METS; Evenson moderate.
Requested wear time: 7 days (rewear requested if < 5 valid wearing days including 1 weekend).
Data processing software: MeterPlus.
N/A Average minutes of sedentary time per valid wearing day Evenson 2008 (25),
Cain 2013 (26)
Time in sedentary behaviors
(Adolescent survey)
Norman et al., 2005 (32),
Rosenberg et al., 2010 (33)
Time spent in sedentary activities on a typical school day during non-school hours. E.g., watching TV/DVDs/videos, playing sedentary video/computer games, riding in a motor vehicle 6 items;
0=None
1=15 min, 2=30 min
3=1 hr,
4=2 hrs,
5=3 hrs,
6=4+ hrs
Responses recoded to minutes and summed to create minutes per day engaged in sedentary behaviors Good test-retest reliability (Norman et al, 2005 (32)) and construct validity (Rosenberg et al., 2010 (33))

PA=physical activity, MVPA=moderate-to-vigorous physical activity