Validation of the Stanford Brief Activity Survey: examining psychological factors and physical activity levels in older adults.
BACKGROUND
This study examined the construct validity and reliability of the new 2-item Stanford Brief Activity Survey (SBAS).


METHODS
Secondary analysis was conducted using data collected from the healthy older controls (n = 1023) enrolled in the Atherosclerotic Disease Vascular Function and Genetic Epidemiology (ADVANCE) study. Construct validity was examined by regression analyses to evaluate significant trends (P < or = .05) across the SBAS activity categories for the selected psychological health factors measured at baseline and year 2, adjusted for gender, ethnicity and education level. Test-retest reliability was performed using Spearman's rank correlation.


RESULTS
At baseline, subjects were 66 +/- 2.8 years old, 38% female, 77% married, 61% retired, 24% college graduate, and 68% Caucasian. At baseline, lower self-reported stress, anxiety, depression, and cynical distrust, and higher self-reported mental and physical well-being were significantly associated with higher levels of physical activity (p trend < or = 0.01). These associations held at year 2. The test-retest reliability of the SBAS was statistically significant (r(s)= 0.62, P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide evidence of the construct validity and reliability of the SBAS in older adults. We also found a strong dose-response relationship between regular physical activity and psychological health in older adults, independent of gender, education level and ethnicity.
College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Ruth E
RE
Taylor-Piliae
Joan M
JM
Fair
William L
WL
Haskell
Ann N
AN
Varady
Carlos
C
Iribarren
Mark A
MA
Hlatky
Alan S
AS
Go
Stephen P
SP
Fortmann
D000368:Aged; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D011594:Psychometrics; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric