In 1999, Wilson and Batterham proposed a new approach to assessing the test-retest stability of psychometric questionnaires. They recommended assessing the proportion of agreement - that is, the proportion of participants that record the same response to an item - using a test-retest design. They went on to use a bootstrapping technique to estimate the uncertainty of the proportion of agreement. The aims of this short communication are (1) to demonstrate that the sampling distribution of the proportion of agreement is well known (the binomial distribution), making the technique of 'bootstrapping' redundant, and (2) to suggest a much simpler, more sensitive method of assessing the stability of a psychometric questionnaire, based on the test-retest differences (within-individuals) for each item. Adopting methods similar to Wilson and Batterham, 97 sport students completed the Social Physique Anxiety Scale on two occasions. Test-retest differences were calculated for each item. Our results show that the proportion of agreement ignores the nature of disagreement. Items 4 and 11 showed similar agreement (44.3% and 43.3% respectively), but 89 of the participants (91.8%) differed by just +/-1 point when responding to item 4, indicating a relatively stable item. In contrast, only 78 of the participants (80.4%) recorded a difference within +/- 1 point when responding to item 11, suggesting quite contrasting stability for the two items. We recommend that, when assessing the stability of self-report questionnaires using a 5-point scale, most participants (90%) should record test-retest differences within a reference value of +/- 1.
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The discrepancy between the physical activity (PA) participation levels of men and women is well documented. Indeed, in the UK at least, women's levels of inactivity are a serious concern, particularly given the effects of inactivity on long-term health. With recent shifts in the UK public health rhetoric recommending the attainment of daily PA levels via outdoor physical activity modes, such as walking and cycling, this paper seeks to explore the possible implications of such policy change on women's PA participation and, specifically, the potential for gender-related barriers to be reduced. The paper features an empirical analysis of PA participation patterns among a sample of female respondents from a University in the South West of England. Data were collected via survey (n = 131, employees, n = 57, students: n = 74) and follow-up group and individual interviews (n = 45, employees: n = 25, students: n = 20). Findings acknowledge the various and diverse experiences of women with regards to social and cultural aspects of fear and risk and how this shapes PA participation. Specifically, the complex relationships women share with outdoor space are uncovered, and how access to, and patterns of exercise are influenced as a consequence. The paper concludes by reaffirming the need for links between public and personal health, well-being and the environment to be integral to the development of future policy and practice, whilst calling for further research to be carried out with different population groups across more varied geographical landscapes. IntroductionIt is well documented that physical activity (PA) levels among the UK population are low. In fact, statistics demonstrates that only a small percentage of UK citizens (approximately 23% of women and 34% of men) actually achieve the weekly levels of PA recommended by government as beneficial to health 1 (Department of Health [DoH] 2004a, 2004b, Sport England 2008. These findings support those of previous population studies and clearly outline the gender discrepancy in PA participation in the UK (Sport England 2008). Physical inactivity has an impact on both short-and long-term physical and mental health, with recent evidence suggesting that regular activity can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, Type II diabetes, some cancers, and may enhance psychological well-being (British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health 2009).
23The wellbeing of young people is of considerable concern with many 24 initiatives targeting the health behaviors of this population. Educators are 25 amongst the professional groups being challenged to understand, evidence 26 and enhance childhood wellbeing. Working with a case study UK school 27 adolescent subjective wellbeing (SWB) was examined through the Introduction 42Wellbeing is referred to frequently within public policy and it has become a common 43 measure by which quality of life is judged (Coombs, 2006, OECD, 2009, ONS, 2011. 44However, it is a contested, multi-dimensional construct without an agreed definition
The study investigated the place and promotion of well-being from the perspectives of services users and mental health professionals. * Data from focus groups and interviews were analysed and found that well-being promotion was available, for example weight management groups in mental health services. However, they also found that there were some contradictions between the groups of people interviewed about what was available and what to promote in the future. * The study concludes suggesting partnerships with local communities to further develop well-being services, such as opportunities for physical activity, for people with mental health problems. Abstract This study explored service users' and mental health professionals' understandings, experiences and opinions of well-being and its promotion within mental health services. A qualitative case study methodology included nine participants (five adult service users, three mental health professionals, one senior manager) who were purposively sampled from a Mental Health Trust in England. Service users participated in a focus group, while individual semi-structured interviews were held with the mental health professionals and senior manager. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of the data revealed five main themes including well-being as a holistic concept; well-being promotion; the place, promotion and position of well-being; role of mental health services in well-being promotion; and areas for further improvement. Findings revealed evidence of well-being promotion; however, there were contradictions regarding what was known between the groups of participants and what could be provided in the future. Implications for practice include the need to establish more effective partnership working between mental health services and local communities, especially in light of financial constraints within health services at large. This could assist the increased provision of therapeutic services for well-being promotion.
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