Evidence for the Validity of the Children's Attraction to Physical Activity (CAPA) Scale in Iranian Preschool Children

Abstract Purpose The escalating trend of overweight and obesity is a major global health challenge and needs particular attention. There are a number of reasons for this increase, but the dominant one appears to be the pandemic of physical inactivity. It is now clear that children's attraction to physical activity is an important promising factor in children's physical activity involvement. In this study, we aimed to cross-validate the long version of children's attraction to physical activity (CAPA) scale in Iranian preschool children. Design and Methods Evidence for the validity of the scale was based on face validity, content validity, and internal consistency. The scale was translated into Persian and underwent forward translation, synthesis of the translation and backward translation. Face and content validity were subsequently assessed on individuals and expert panels. A sample of 30 preschool children (5–6 years of age) were randomly selected from three kindergartens. Children were interviewed by their kindergarten teachers. Results Internal consistency for each of the five subscales of the CAPA scale was evaluated through Cronbach's alpha. The internal consistency was acceptable for most of the subscales when negative statements were excluded from the analyses. Conclusions The results supported the use of modified version of Persian-language long CAPA scale for Iranian preschool children, with the deletion of negatively worded items. Practice Implications Health care professionals may use the CAPA when assessing the attraction of children toward physical activity and its potential involvement in childhood obesity.