Negative attitudes toward physical activity: measurement and role in predicting physical activity levels among preadolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the development and validation of a measure of negative attitudes toward physical activity and examine the association between these attitudes and self-reported physical activity among preadolescents.
METHOD: A school-based sample of 382 fifth and sixth graders (mean age = 10.8) completed measures of attitudes toward physical activity and self-reported physical activity. Body mass index data for the participants was collected as a part of a standard school health assessment. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were utilized to test the factor structure and predictive value of attitudes toward physical activity.
RESULTS: Results supported the reliability and concurrent validity of the negative attitudes measure and found a significant association between negative attitudes and physical activity. Negative attitudes was found to be a stronger predictor of physical activity than positive attitudes, which have been the focus of previous research in this area.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that negative attitudes toward physical activity can be reliably measured and may be an important target for intervention efforts to increase physical activity among children and adolescents.