Dr. Diego Silva (visiting Professor from Brazil), Dr. Katie Gunnell and Dr. Mark Tremblay are authors on a paper, “Factor structure of responses to the Portuguese version of questions about screen time-based sedentary behavior among adolescents,” that was just published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. Citation details and a summary of the paper are below.

Silva DAS, Gunnell KE, Tremblay MS. Factor Structure of Responses to the Portuguese Version of Questions About Screen Time-Based Sedentary Behavior Among Adolescents. J Phys Act Health. 2018 Apr 1;15(4):263-268.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the factor structure of responses to the Portuguese version of questions related to screen time-based sedentary behavior among adolescents. METHODS: This cross-sectional study with a sample of 1083 adolescents aged 14-19 years was conducted in Brazil. The sample was randomly divided into 2 groups for an exploratory factor analysis and for a confirmatory factor analysis. Screen time was investigated by a Portuguese version of questions about time sitting in front of television, computer, and video games on weekdays and weekends. RESULTS: Scree plots showed 2 factors with eigenvalues above 1. One factor was formed by items about television and computer use, and the other factor was formed by items about video game use. The exploratory factor analysis with 2 factors resulted in factor loadings above .60. A second model with 1 factor was estimated and resulted in factor loadings above .55. A confirmatory factor analysis was estimated based on the 2-factor exploratory factor analysis and goodness-of-fit statistics were adequate. Confirmatory factor analysis with 1 factor had goodness-of-fit statistics adequate. CONCLUSIONS: The Portuguese language version of self-report screen time had 2 possible factor solutions, and items demonstrated good factor structure with reasonable reliability making it suitable for use in the future studies.