title: An 8-item test of acrobatics and balance.
abstract: A 14-item test of Acrobatics and Balance was previously developed to assess gross motor skills of high school physical education students. This study examined the factor structure of an 8-item version of the test based on exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic techniques. The 8-item short-form of the Acrobatics and Balance test was administered to 334 Italian boys, ages 14 to 16 yr. (M = 15.0, SD= .8), during physical education lessons. The sample was then randomly split into two groups of equal size. Data from Group 1 were subjected to principal components analysis followed by oblimin rotation. Two factors emerged without overlapping items, accounting for 65.6% of variance. Factors included items of Acrobatics and Balance, matching the scales of the whole version of the 14-item test. Confirmatory factor analysis on data from Group 2 confirmed the two factor structure of the 8-item test. The test had a Cronbach coefficient alpha of .84. The Balance and Acrobatics scales had Cronbach alphas of .84 and .78 for Group 1 and of .84 and .77 for Group 2. Findings provided preliminary support for the use of the 8-item test, especially when there is a need to shorten assessment time.
authors.affiliation: Universitá di Padova, Italy. claudio.robazza@unipd.it
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robazza
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bortoli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D004856:Postural Balance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*