Validation of the children and youth physical self perceptions profile for young children

Objectives: The Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile (CY-PSPP) Is widely used to study children's physical self-perceptions and potential influences on physical activity and other psychosocial constructs. Previous studies have supported the overall utility of the CY-PSPP with adolescent children but the validity and utility of the instrument has not been established for younger children. The purpose of this Study was to test the proposed hierarchical relationships of the CY-PSPP among a large sample of young children. A secondary purpose was to examine the construct and predictive validity of the CY-PSPP subdomains. Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: Children (n = 754) completed the CY-PSPP instrument and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) during physical education class. Health-related fitness nature were obtained from the FITNESSGRAM test battery. Structural equation modeling was conducted to assess the factor structure of the measurement model and the relationships among the CY-PSPP domains. Sequential multigroup covariance analyses was used to examine gender equivalence of the instrument and correlation analyses were used to examine construct and predictive validity. Results: CFA supported the factorial validity of the CY-PSPP model and revealed no invariance between genders. Correlations between CY-PSPP domains and measures of fitness were moderate and exhibited the expected pattern of relationships. Each of the CY-PSPP domains was also significantly correlated with physical activity. Conclusions: The CY-PSPP provides a useful way to study the nature and impact of physical self-perception in young children. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.