Reliability and Validity of the PAQ-A Questionnaire to Assess Physical Activity in Spanish Adolescents

Background: Questionnaires are feasible instruments to assess physical activity (PA) in large samples. The aim of the current study wits to evaluate the reliability and validity of the PAQ-A questionnaire in Spanish adolescents using the measurement of PA by accelerometer as criterion. Methods: In a sample of 82 adolescents, aged 12 to 17 years, I week PAQ-A test-retest wits administered. Reliability was analyzed by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the internal consistency by the Cronbach's alpha Coefficient. Two hundred thirty-two adolescents. aged 13-17 years. completed the PAQ-A and wore the ActiGraph GTlM accelerometer during 7-days. The PAQ-A was compared against total PA and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) obtained by the accelerometer. Results: Test-retest reliability showed ICC = 0.71 for the final score of PAQ-A. Internal consistency was alpha = 0.65 in the first self-report, alpha = 0.67 in the retest in 82 adolescents sample, and alpha = 0.74 in the 232 adolescents sample. The PAQ-A was moderately correlated with total PA (rho = 0.39) and MVPA (rho = 0.34) assessed by the accelerometer. The PAQ-A obtained significantly moderate correlations in boys but not in girls against the accelerometer. Conclusions: The PAQ-A questionnaire shows an adequate reliability and a reasonable validity for assessing PA in Spanish adolescents.