REPRODUCIBILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE 3 DPAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE IN A SAMPLE OF BRAZILIAN ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Reliable and valid instruments to measure physical activity are needed to the development of programs to promote physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to determine construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Brazilian version of the 3DPAR (3-Day Physical Activity Recall û Pate et al.) questionnaire in a sample of adolescents from Santa Catarina, Brazil. This questionnaire assesses the amount and levels of PA performed during three consecutive days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). Data was collected Wednesday considering 30 minutes intervals, from 7 am to 12 pm. The sample was selected by convenience, including 216 high school students (13 to 19 years old). Included in this sample were 40 competitive athletes, for known groups construct validation. Procedures: a) translation and confirmation by three experts, fluent in both Portuguese and English; b) survey of the most common activities by Brazilian adolescents in this region (n = 96); c) to determine the reliability and objectivity the questionnaire was applied twice in the same day (at the beginning and at the end of school day), involving a group for reliability (n = 40) and another to objectivity (n = 40); d) in the process of construct validation, the questionnaire was applied to athletes (n = 40), separately. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics was used, Student t-test for mean differences, and the Intraclass Correlation (R), with p < 0,05 level. The results showed that the test-retest means did not differ significantly (p < 0.05) for all levels of effort: light, moderate, intense and very intense. The Intraclass Correlation coefficients can be considered high (R = 0,92 to 0,99) to all effort levels. As expected, athletes showed significantly higher levels of intense and very intense PA compared to the non-athletes (p < 0,05), confirming the construct validity of this Portuguese version of the 3DPAR. This questionnaire showed good validity and reproducibility for this group of adolescents in Brazil.