Competencies for a healthy physically active lifestyle – Validation of an integrative model

Abstract Purpose: The model of physical activity-related health competence (PAHCO) provides an integrative and interdisciplinary view on the multitude of competencies that are necessary when people want to lead a physically active lifestyle. For further validation of this framework, the goal of the present study was to extend first measurement models on PAHCO (Sudeck & Pfeifer, 2016) and thereby contribute to the development of a standardized assessment tool. Method: In Study 1, a measurement model with five predictors on PAHCO was tested with 341 COPD patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. In Study 2, data from 745 apprentices were used to create an extended eight-factor measurement model. We undertook reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the validity of the models. Results: The analyses showed good results for the reliability and discriminant validity of the factors. Accordingly, the CFA revealed satisfactory overall fits for the five-factor as well as for the extended eight-factor measurement model. In addition, the significant associations with physical activity and physical health parameters indicated criterion validity of almost all PAHCO factors. The explained variance of the multivariate models lay between 9.8% and 10.4% in Study 1 and between 9.5% and 21.3% in Study 2.Conclusion: In the present study, it was possible to extract a well-fitting eight-factor measurement model and accumulate further evidence on the validity of the PAHCO model. Future research should strive for a cross-validation of the measurement model and more deeply investigate the internal structure of the eight factors.