Psychological Correlates of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: A Cluster Analytical Approach

The purpose of the study was to examine the potential differences in factors that control physical activity participation in primary, high school and senior-high school students through a cluster analytic approach, in relation to leisure time physical activity participation and body mass index (BMI). One thousand, one hundred and forty eight (1148) pupils participated in this study, aged 11-18 years. The study was held through questionnaires and all scales had acceptable levels of internal consistency (α>.70). Students were divided according to their BMI, to those with: a) normal BMI, b) overweight children and c) obese children. A clustering-by-cases procedure was used to classify the participants (in proportion of the school level and their BMI) on the basis of their response to the questionnaires and the three cluster solution revealed that there were different student’s groups in primary, high school and senior-high school with regard to physical activity participation, body mass index (BMI) and psychological correlates of physical activity. An improved understanding of the factors associated with physical activity in these groups may assist in the design of appropriate interventions to promote physical activity.