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Table 1 Descriptive statistics for cultural, objective and perceived environmental factors, and parental practice variables

From: Environmental and cultural correlates of physical activity parenting practices among Latino parents with preschool-aged children: Niños Activos

Variable (theoretical range of scale)

M (SD)

Median (IQR)

Cronbach’s alpha (Average inter-item correlation)*

Test-retest reliability (n = 48)

Cultural

    

 Acculturation – Non-Hispanic (1–4)

2.8 (1.1)

3.1 (2.1)

0.98

0.64

 Acculturation – Hispanic (1–4)

3.3 (0.7)

3.5 (0.9)

0.94

0.80

 Familism (1–5)

4.6 (0.6)

5.0 (0.6)

0.90

0.82

Objective environmental factor

    

 Crime index

178.3 (125.6)

126.0 (195.0)

N/A

N/A

 Traffic index (sum of z-scores)

1.1 (5.1)

-1.1 (6.2)

N/A

N/A

 Distance to nearest park (km)

1.9 (2.6)

0.8 (1.5)

N/A

N/A

Perceived environmental factor

    

 Signs of physical and social disorder (1–5)

2.0 (0.7)

1.8 (1.0)

0.93†

0.95†

 Traffic safety (1–4)

2.9 (0.7)

3.0 (0.7)

0.53 (0.28)

0.74

 Traffic hazards (1–4)

2.7 (0.8)

2.8 (1.0)

0.80

0.63

 Stranger danger (1–4)

2.6 (0.9)

2.6 (1.3)

0.93

0.78

 Availability of active play equipment (8–32)

22.7 (5.7)

23.0 (8.0)

N/A

0.86

 Places for child’s physical activity (0–12)

5.7 (2.9)

6.0 (4.0)

N/A

0.89

 Neighborhood informal social control (1–5)

3.4 (0.7)

3.4 (0.8)

0.93

0.83

Parenting practice related to physical activity

    

Practices that Encourage child PA

    

 Engagement/Structure (1–5)

3.4 (0.4)

3.3 (0.8)

0.90

0.85

 Register child for sports or dance (1–5)

3.0 (1.4)

3.0 (2.0)

N/A

0.62

 Have outdoor toys available for child (1–5)

3.9 (1.2)

4.0 (2.0)

N/A

0.57

Practices that Discourage child PA

    

 Safety concerns (1–5)

2.6 (0.9)

2.5 (1.8)

0.82

0.56

 Psychological control (1–5)

2.1 (0.7)

2.0 (1.3)

0.59 (0.26)

0.85

 Promote inactivity (1–5)

2.0 (0.7)

2.0 (1.3)

0.50 (0.26)

0.59

 Promote screen time (1–5)

2.4 (0.7)

2.3 (0.7)

0.61 (0.34)

0.62

  1. Note: M = mean; SD = standard deviation; IQR = interquartile range.
  2. Data were collected in Harris County, TX from July 2011 to March 2012.
  3. †Represents the modified 16 item for Signs of physical and social disorder scale. Cronbach’s alpha for the original 14-item scale was 0.93 and test-retest reliability was 0.94.
  4. *Average inter-item correlation is reported for subscales with Cronbach’s alpha < .70 and 5 or fewer items.
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BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

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