Table 4.

Physical activity (PA) parenting practices item bank – full list of items by domain and list of items included in the short form

Constructs # items IRM reliabilitya	Items		Short form
Neglect/control PA parenting practices domain
Coercive control 19 items (.94)	3	My child can convince me to not enroll him/her in any physical activity or sport classes during the year
	4	I have to nag or constantly remind my child to be physically active in his/her free time.	√
	5	I threaten to take away privileges (e.g., TV or video game times) if my child does not spend time being physically active in his/her free time
	6	I try to guilt my child to be more physically active by telling him/her that s/he has been lazy
	7	The only way I can get my child to play outside is by insisting that my child goes outside	√
	8	My child knows that I get upset and angry at him/her if s/he is not participating in physical activity in his/her free time
	9	To help my child improve at sports or physical activity, I have to push my child hard	√
	10	When the weather allows, I force my child to play outside even if s/he does not feel like it	√
	11	I discipline my child for refusing to exercise or being inactive in his/her free time
	12	To encourage my child to be physically active, I promise a sweet or salty treat (e.g., dessert) if s/he is active
	13	I complain to my child when s/he is not active enough in order to get him/her to be more active
	14	To get my child to practice his/her activities, I often say “your friends will make fun of you if you do not get better at your activities (e.g., sport, dance)	√
	15	I insist that my child participates in organized sports or physical activities instead of playing with his/her friends
	16	I show my child people who are unhealthy (overweight) to get him or her to be more physically active
	17	I tell my child s/he will gain weight if s/he doesn’t exercise
	18	I tell my child s/he will get diabetes or other diseases if s/he is not physically active on a regular basis
	19	I take something away (no dessert or TV) or add an additional chore (clean up toys) if my child refuses to take part in physical activity or sports
	20	To make my child do more physical activity in his/her free time, I tell him/her to stop being lazy	√
	21	The only way I get my child to exercise or be physically active in his/her free time is by forcing him/her to be active	√
Structure PA parenting practices domain
Nondirective support 10 items (.89)	22	Participate in any physical activity (such as playing ball or sports) with your child	√
	23	Go for walks with your child
	24	Walk or bike with your child to go to places that are near your home (a few minutes away) even though it would be quicker to drive
	25	Ask your child to exercise or be physically active with you	√
	26	Our family is physically active together	√
	27	Participation in physical activity and sports is central to what our family does together
	29	I talk about my physical activity with my child
	30	Do at least 30 min of physical activity or exercise (e.g., walking, cycling, or playing a sport) on your own or with others? d
	31	Keep track (in your head or writing down) whether your child did 60 min physical activity or exercise every day d
	33	Arrange for your child to be with friends that would encourage your child to be physically active
Supportive expectation 8 items (.85)	35	I make sure my child has the physical activity or sport equipment to use when s/he wants to play outside (like soccer balls, basketballs, or active outdoor toys)	√
	36	I often buy active or outdoor physical activity equipment or toys to encourage my child to play outside
	37	When the weather allows, I have expectations that my child should play outside	√
	38	I believe that children should participate in some form of physical activity or sports on most days of the week
	39	I have expectations that my child should get physical activity through play in his/her free time	√
	40	I have expectations that my family should be physically active together every week
	41	I have expectations that my child must be physically active every day for about
	42	During the school year, I expect my child to enroll in physical activities or sports outside of the school day, at least …
Facilitation 3 items (.79)	44	During the SCHOOL YEAR, I enroll my child in organized sport or physical activity classes (e.g., swimming lessons, dance, karate, soccer, or other)	√
	46	When school is out in the SUMMER, I find ways for my child to be physically active by enrolling him/her in summer activities (including sport related summer camps)	√
	47	When school is out in the SUMMER, how many days per week did you typically spend taking your child to his/her sport or physical activity classes or practices (excluding summer camps)	√
Restrict inside PA 3 items (.80)	49	How often do you restrict active play (e.g., ball games, running, wrestling) inside your home	√
	50	How often do you tell your child to stop playing too actively because someone may get hurt if s/he continues the activity	√
	51	How often do you prevent your child from playing actively for fear of someone getting hurt	√
Allow unsurpervised outdoor PA 3 items (.89)	54	Do you let your child play outside on his/her own without direct adult supervision?	√
	55	Do you let your child walk to places on his/her own?	√
	57	Do you let your child take public transportation to places on his/her own?	√
Autonomy promotion PA parenting practices domain
Autonomy support 9 items (.91)	58	On the weekends, I encourage my child to play outside when the weather allows
	66	Discuss the benefits of being active with your child without making your child feel bad
	67	Tell your child that you like it when s/he spends time outdoors being active
	68	I show my child examples of role models (people who are active) that my child can relate with to encourage him/her to be physically active
	75	Make your child’s sport or physical activity participation a topic of family conversation
	78	Spend time teaching your child how to play a sport or learn a physical activity skill
	79	Tell your child that you are proud of him/her for participating in any physical activity or something to do with sports	√
	80	Praise your child for being physically active or for participating in sports or physical activity classes	√
	83	I find it stimulating to hear my child talk about the progress s/he is making in learning a new sport or physical activity skill
Guided Choice 7 items (.88)	84	I asked my child to let me know what activities s/he would like to do	√
	85	I involved my child in deciding which physical activity or sports s/he is enrolled in	√
	86	I provided my child with choices about the physical activity s/he does	√
	87	I allowed my child to pick the types of physical activity/sports we do together
	88	I asked my child to decide when s/he could be active in his/her free time.
	89	When I discuss with my child when s/he should be active, we can quickly agree on a solution we are both happy with
	92	I allowed my child to choose the physical activity/sports we do as a family (whether we go for a walk, hike, bike ride, or play an active game).	√
Reward 3 items (.88)	93	I give my child a small reward (e.g., sticker, badge, or take my child to a movie) when s/he Is being physically active in his/her free time	√
	95	I give my child a small reward (e.g., sticker, badge, or take my child to a movie) when s/he tries hard at his/her physical activity or sport	√
	96	I give my child a small reward (e.g., sticker, badge, or take my child to a movie) when s/he participates in organized sports or physical activity classes	√

IRM reliability = Empirical reliability computed from Item Response Modeling (IRM) which takes into account the ordinal nature of the data

^aThe IRM reliability for the short form is fixed at .80 for these constructs

√ = Item included in the short form