How Days Between Tests Impacts Alternate Forms Reliability in Computerized Adaptive Tests

Performance of soccer players under acute physical fatigue: An approach based on cognitive, tactical and physical aspects

This study aimed to verify whether peripheral perception, tactical behaviour, and physical performance are influenced by acute physical fatigue in soccer players. The study included 24 trained soccer players (18.6 ± 1.5 years) from two Brazilian clubs. The TSAFT90 test was used to induce acute physical fatigue. The results showed that physical fatigue did not affect peripheral perception (p = 0.360). Regarding tactical behaviour, improved efficiency was observed for the principles of offensive coverage (p = 0.029), width and length with the ball (p = 0.044), and concentration (p = 0.008). On the other hand, a reduction was observed in the number of tactical actions of offensive coverage (p = 0.020) and recovery balance (p = 0.042). Also, improved accuracy in the principles of defensive balance (p = 0.009), recovery balance (p = 0.021) and defensive unity (p = 0.003) occurred under physical fatigue. A reduction in the physical performance outcomes total distance covered (p < 0.001), average speed (p < 0.001), sprints (p = 0.029), number of accelerations (p = 0.008) and decelerations (p = 0.008) were also detected. The internal (p < 0.01) and external (p < 0.01) workload was higher under physical fatigue. Overall, acute physical fatigue did not influence peripheral perception. However, physical performance was reduced under fatigue, the perceived effort increased, and tactical behaviours were affected by decreasing tactical actions performed near the ball, increasing errors in defensive movements in the lateral corridors and the last defensive line, and improving offensive tactical actions performance.

Adaptation and validation of the Body Image Life Disengagement Questionnaire (BILD-Q) for use in english among adolescents in urban India

Body image concerns are a global issue among adolescents, including in India. These concerns can prevent adolescents from engaging in everyday life activities, impeding social and academic development. However, at present, there are no psychometrically valid measures to assess such impact in the Indian context. This study culturally adapted and validated the Body Image Life Disengagement Questionnaire (BILD-Q) for use in English among adolescents in urban India. A total of 1427 adolescents completed an adapted version of the BILD-Q along with additional measures pertaining to body image. Exploratory factor analysis identified one dimension of body image life disengagement, which provided the best fit. The 9-item one-factor model was further supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency and test re-test reliability. Further analysis demonstrated that the scale can be used to compare scores between boys and girls without measurement bias. This study presents a culturally adapted version of the BILD-Q, which can be used as a valid and reliable measure to assess the impact of body image concerns on life disengagement among English-speaking adolescents in urban India.

A contribution to the French validation of the clinical anxiety scale amongst health care workers in Switzerland

BACKGROUND

Anxiety disorders are frequent but remain often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Hence, valid screening instruments are needed to enhance the diagnostic process. The Clinical Anxiety Scale (CAS) is a 25-item anxiety screening tool derived from the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A). However, this scale is not available in French. The General anxiety disorder - 7 (GAD-7) scale, which has been validated in French, is a 7-item instrument with good psychometric properties. This study contributes to the validation of an adapted French version of the CAS, using the GAD-7 as the reference.

METHODS

A forward-backward English-French-English translation of the CAS was performed according to standard practice. The French versions of the CAS and GAD-7 were completed by 127 French speaking healthcare professionals. CAS internal consistency was assessed using Crohnbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability was tested after 15 days in a subsample of 30 subjects. Convergent validity with GAD-7 was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Test-retest reliability was explored using one-way random effects model to calculate the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

French CAS showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.97), high convergent validity with GAD-7 (Pearson's R 0.81, p < 0.001), and very good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.97, 95% CI 0.93-0.98).

CONCLUSION

The proposed French version of the CAS showed high reliability and validity that need to be further investigated in different populations.

The pain attitudes and beliefs scale for physiotherapists: development and psychometric assessment of the Spanish version among physiotherapy students

INTRODUCTION

Pain might be approached from a biomedical or biopsychosocial perspective. There is a lack of research on the attitudes and beliefs about pain among physiotherapy students. In this context, the Pain Attitudes and Belief Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT) is an instrument widely used from a clinical and educational perspective, but its psychometric properties have not yet been tested in a student-based population.

OBJECTIVE

To develop the Spanish version of the PABS-PT scale and to assess its psychometric properties among students in physiotherapy.

METHODS

The study was carried out among 103 students in their final years of academic studies in the Degree in Physiotherapy in the University of Murcia (Spain). Sociodemographic and PABS-PT related variables were collected. The instrument was translated into Spanish and tested through factor analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and known-groups validity. The 95% minimal detectable change of the instrument was also calculated.

RESULTS

The factor analysis revealed two factors within the instrument: Biomedical (9 items) and Biopsychosocial (7 items) factors, with Cronbach's alpha values of 0.730 and 0.708, respectively. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (3,2) was 0.851 for the Biomedical factor and 0.699 for the Biopsychosocial factor. The minimal detectable changes (95% CI) for the Biomedical and Biopsychosocial factors were 6.01 and 5.56, respectively. The pre-specified hypothesis for the known-groups validity test was met and revealed large effect sizes (d = 1.24).

CONCLUSION

The Spanish version of the instrument PABS-PT-SP covers two factors. It shows satisfactory psychometric properties and it is therefore an effective framework to discriminate between the biomedical and/or biopsychosocial thoughts and attitudes toward pain in physiotherapy.

Association between Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Anthropometric and Health Variables in College-Aged Males

The present study aimed to verify the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and anthropometric and health variables. Four-hundred-and-ninety-five college-aged males aged 18–25 participated in this cross-sectional research. The KIMED (Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and adolescents) was used to assess the adherence to MD. The following variables were also assessed: body mass (BM), height (HE), body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (%FAT), lean mass (LEAN), abdominal girth (AG), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), oxygen saturation (SPO2), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), double product (DP), and fasting blood glucose (GLU). The results showed that adherence to MD presented a strong negative correlation with most of the anthropometric parameters (BM: r = −0.571; BMI: r = −0.614; %FAT: r = −0.558; and AG: r = −0.564), a moderate or weak correlation with most of the health variables (GLU: r = −0.407; SBP: r = −0.238; DBP: r = −0.217, and DP: r = −0.265) and LEAN (r = −0.497), and a very weak correlation with WHR (r = −0.090). Many anthropometric parameters (BM, BMI, %FAT, LEAN, AG, WHR) present significant correlations with health variables (SBP, DBP, DP, and GLU). We conclude that greater adherence to Mediterranean diet is associated with healthier values of the selected anthropometric and health parameters. Since most of the anthropometric and health parameters present significant correlations among themselves, this finding could be useful in medical diagnosis, health monitoring, and risk detection. Based on the level of adherence to Mediterranean diet and the KIDMED found in the present study, and considering the prevalence of obesity in the Middle East, it is imperative to implement nutritional interventions with the target population of this research to prevent nutrition-related diseases and promote public health.