The Relationship of the Sit and Reach Test to Criterion Measures of Hamstring and Back Flexibility in Young Females

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the relationships of the sit and reach test, a component of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Health Related Fitness Test, 1980, with criterion measures of back and hamstring flexibility. Young females (N = 100) with a mean age of 14.08 years ± .825 were administered two trials of three tests. The measurements included the sit and reach test, passive hamstring flexibility using a Leighton Flexometer, and a test of back flexibility using a protocol suggested by Macrae and Wright in 1969. Test-retest reliability estimates exceeded .90 for all measurements. Results indicated that the sit and reach test had a moderate relationship (r = .64) with passive hamstring flexibility. The correlations between the sit and reach test and total back flexibility (r = .07), upper back flexibility (r = −.16), and lower back flexibility (r = .28) were low. These findings indicate the sit and reach test has moderate criterion-related validity when used as an assessment of hamstring flexibility, but appears not to provide a valid assessment of back and, in particular, low back flexibility which is one of the reasons it was included in the Health Related Fitness Test. Key Words: flexibilitysit and reach testhealth related fitness