Levels And Correlates Of Physical Activity In Students With Light To Moderate Intellectual Disability

Purpose:Some studies have shown that children and adolescents with intellectual disability(ID)actually take part in physical exercise for a short time and have a low level of physical activity(PA).Lack of PA seriously affects the physical and mental health of adolescents with ID.Understanding the correlates of PA of adolescents with ID is of great significance to the development and design of targeted and effective intervention programs for promoting PA.Foreign scholars mostly use interviews and questionnaires to study the correlates of PA of students with ID.Relevant research in China is still in its infancy.Only a few studies have confirmed that shame and exercise self-efficacy are related to PA level of disabled children and adolescents.Therefore,this study conducted in-depth interviews with students with ID,parents and teachers by qualitative methods,compiled correlates questionnaire and conducted a questionnaire survey on students with ID,and objectively measured PA status.The correlates of PA of students with ID are determined by mathematical statistics analysis,which can provide empirical reference for further research in related fields and the development of effective intervention measures for physical health of students with ID.Methods:1.In this study,20 teachers and 20 parents were interviewed in group by nominal group method,and 20 students with ID were interviewed in one-to-one form.Based on the results of tripartite interviews,a questionnaire on correlates of PA of students with ID(initial questionnaire)was designed.2.95 students with ID aged 8-18 were recruited from Mentougou District Special Education School in Beijing and Qinhuangdao Special Education School as subjects of study.Their parents filled in the questionnaire on the correlates of PA of students with ID(initial questionnaire)and filled in it again two weeks later.The reliability of the questionnaire was tested by intra-group correlation coefficient(ICC).The questions of ICC?0.4 were excluded.The structural validity of the remaining factors was tested by exploratory factor analysis combined with the reality of each variable.Attribute,determine the structure of the questionnaire,and ultimately determine the"Questionnaire on the Correlates of PA of Students with ID".3.From the valid results of the questionnaire survey,60 subjects were selected to measure physical activity by using ActiGraph GT3X+accelerometer.Measure their low physical activity(LPA),medium physical activity(MPA),vigorous physical activity(VPA),medium and vigorous physical activity(MVPA)time.Matched sample T was used to test the level of PA in different periods,independent sample T was used to test the level of PA between different sexes,and the time of PA was used as dependent variable,indicators in the Questionnaire on correlates of PA of Students with ID are taken as independent variables,ages and BMI as control variables,linear regression analysis was carried out according to sex grouping to determine the correlates of PA of students with ID.Results:1.The results of tripartite interviews ultimately identified 39 potential correlates affecting PA of students with ID,including individual correlates(psychological correlates,physiological and behavioral correlates),inter-individual correlates,community correlates,school correlates and policy correlates,as the basis for compiling the questionnaire.After similar items merging and expert consultation,a questionnaire on Influencing Correlates of PA of students with ID(initial questionnaire)was compiled,which ultimately contains 36 influencing correlates.2.Ninety-five initial questionnaires were distributed,three invalid questionnaires were excluded,and 92 valid questionnaires were valid.Eighteen of the 36 questionnaires with ICC?0.4 were excluded.The remaining 18 items were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis.The coefficients of two weather correlates were low and could not be excluded in the same component as other correlates.Finally,16 questions were included in the Questionnaire on the Influencing Correlates of PA of Students with ID,which were divided into five sub-categories:learning ability(3),discriminatory attitudes of others(3),physical condition(4),behavioral attitudes of parents(4)and psychological characteristics(2).The probability P of Bartlett sphericity test was 0.000,and the KMO value was 0.732.Factor analysis variance explained 59.52%of the total,which was determined as the final questionnaire content.3.Using accelerometer to measure the PA level of the subjects,43 students with ID(29 boys,average age 11.59±2.85 years;14 girls,average age 11.07±2.76 years)finally provided effective accelerometer datas.The results showed that the LPA was138.38±41.28min/d,MPA was 26.21±12.60 min/d,VPA was 27.88±133.76 min/d,MVPA was 54.09±23.27 min/d.30.4%of the subjects could meet the recommended amount of PA proposed by WHO.MVPA on weekdays is higher than on weekends(56.75±26.38min/d vs 52.79±31.42min/d,P<0.01),MVPA in school is higher than that in non-school(29.20±16.01min/d vs 20.54±10.12min/d,P<0.01).4.Linear regression analysis showed that the higher their learning ability(B=6.073,95%CI:-5.120,17.267,P<0.05),the better their physical condition(B=-9.997,95%CI:-25.179,5.185,P<0.05),the more positive parents'behavioral attitudes(B=-6.567,95%CI:-20.172,7.038,P<0.05),the better their own psychological characteristics(B=-3.721,95%CI:-17.116,9.674,P<0.05)and the less obvious discriminatory attitudes of others(B=-2.401,95%CI:-13.427,8.625,P<0.05)the higher LPA level of boys with ID,R~2=0.624,independent variables can explain 62.4%of variance of dependent variables.The less obvious discriminatory attitudes of others(B=2.097,95%CI:-2.438,6.633,P<0.05)affect MPA of boys with ID on weekdays,R~2=0.175.The better their own psychological characteristics(B=1.165,95%CI:-6.020,8.350,P<0.05),the less obvious the discriminatory attitudes of others(B=-1.204,95%CI:-6.052,3.643,P<0.05),and the more positive parents'behavioral attitudes(B=10.385,95%CI:3.731,17.039,P<0.05),the higher VPA level of girls with ID on weekends,R~2=0.156.Conclusion:The objective data show that about 70%of the students?with ID PA level does not reach the World Health Organization recommendation.,and shows that the weekdays is higher than the weekends,and the school period is higher than the non-school period.Learning ability of students with ID,discriminatory attitudes of others,their physical condition,parents'behavioral attitudes and mental characteristics of mentally retarded students affect their PA level.The influencing correlates vary with gender,time and intensity of physical activity.