Scale development for perceived school climate for girls' physical activity.
OBJECTIVE
To test an original scale assessing perceived school climate for girls' physical activity in middle school girls.


METHODS
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM).


RESULTS
CFA retained 5 of 14 original items. A model with 2 correlated factors, perceptions about teachers' and boys' behaviors, respectively, fit the data well in both sixth and eighth graders. SEM detected a positive, significant direct association of the teacher factor, but not the boy factor, with girls' self-reported physical activity.


CONCLUSIONS
School climate for girls' physical activity is a measurable construct, and preliminary evidence suggests a relationship with physical activity.
Birnbaum
Amanda S
AS
Department of Public Health, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA. asb2006@med.cornell.edu
Evenson
Kelly R
KR
Motl
Robert W
RW
Dishman
Rod K
RK
Voorhees
Carolyn C
CC
Sallis
James F
JF
Elder
John P
JP
Dowda
Marsha
M
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012574:Schools; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States