Systematic Review of Childhood Sedentary Behavior Questionnaires: What do We Know and What is Next?

Abstract

BackgroundAccurate measurement of child sedentary behavior is necessary for monitoring trends, examining health effects, and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.ObjectivesWe therefore aimed to summarize studies examining the measurement properties of self-report or proxy-report sedentary behavior questionnaires for children and adolescents under the age of 18 years. Additionally, we provided an overview of the characteristics of the evaluated questionnaires.MethodsWe performed systematic literature searches in the EMBASE, PubMed, and SPORTDiscus electronic databases. Studies had to report on at least one measurement property of a questionnaire assessing sedentary behavior. Questionnaire data were extracted using a standardized checklist, i.e. the Quality Assessment of Physical Activity Questionnaire (QAPAQ) checklist, and the methodological quality of the included studies was rated using a standardized tool, i.e. the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist.ResultsForty-six studies on 46 questionnaires met our inclusion criteria, of which 33 examined test–retest reliability, nine examined measurement error, two examined internal consistency, 22 examined construct validity, eight examined content validity, and two examined structural validity. The majority of the included studies were of fair or poor methodological quality. Of the studies with at least a fair methodological quality, six scored positive on test–retest reliability, and two scored positive on construct validity.ConclusionNone of the questionnaires included in this review were considered as both valid and reliable. High-quality studies on the most promising questionnaires are required, with more attention to the content validity of the questionnaires.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42016035963.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0610-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Screen time between Portuguese and Brazilian children: a cross-cultural study

“…Measures of ST and PA relied on parent-report and were possibly biased. Unfortunately, there are not yet, self-report or proxy-report sedentary behavior questionnaires for children and adolescents available that are both valid and reliable 48 . Besides that, we did not evaluate the use of new media such as handheld videogames, cell phones and music devices that recently has contributed to increased screen time 49 .…”

Peer Review #1 of "Measurement of sedentary behaviour in population health surveys: a review and recommendations (v0.2)"

“…Given their consistent and deleterious associations with health indicators, and high prevalence of daily use, we suggest that TV time, computer time and total screen time are the self-report modalities of SB of greatest importance to include in population health surveys. We absence of SB questionnaires that are both reliable and valid for use among children and youth [16]. Important to consider is that although accelerometers and inclinometers can help to validate sitting time questionnaires, they are unable to tell if a specific question accurately assesses specific modalities of SB (e.g., TV viewing, computer use, etc.).…”

“…Similar to the search for national and international SB questionnaires, studies examining the validity and reliability of SB questionnaires were first identified via personal reference databases, then through email correspondence with SBRN members. During this process, we identified two recent systematic reviews that had summarized the reliability and validity of SB questionnaires in children and youth [16,17]. These reviews provided a high quality summary of the current evidence and were used to inform our discussion on reliability and validity of SB questionnaires among the pediatric population.…”

“…Items/questions from these questionnaires can be found on the SBRN website (http://www.sedentarybehaviour.org/files/?get=SB-questionnaires-spreadsheet-October-24-2017.xlsx). We identified 14 questionnaires from previous systematic reviews [16,17] which have undergone psychometric testing in a pediatric population. Through our search strategy Year Physical Activity Questionnaire, Past-Week Modifiable Activity Questionnaire [PWMAP], Modified MONICA Optional Study on Physical Activity Questionnaire [MOSPA-Q]) [21][22][23][24][25][26], and as many as 23 (Adolescent Sedentary Activities Questionnaire [ASAQ] [27]) items related to SB.…”

“…While two recent systematic reviews have examined the reliability and validity of SB questionnaires in pediatric populations [16,17], no reviews have compared the psychometric properties of SB questionnaires in adults, and none have examined those used in population level surveys. Therefore, the objectives of the present review were to: 1) summarize the available self- report tools for assessing the most common modes of SB including TV viewing, computer use, total screen time, reading, sedentary transportation, and total SB in national and international population surveillance surveys; and, 2) to identify the most valid and reliable questions/questionnaires for assessing total and individual modalities of SB.…”