JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Dance is a complex mode of physical activity (PA) behavior, and participation in dance throughout the lifespan may occur across discrete contexts. To further advance the study of lifetime participation in dance, reliable questionnaires are needed.

Objective:

To evaluate the reliability of a novel self-report measure of lifetime participation in professionally led dance classes.

Methods:

Community-dwelling adults (N=373) completed the Lifetime Dance Exposure Questionnaire for Professional Training (LDEQ-T) at baseline (T1), and n=150 adults repeated the LDEQ-T after an 8-week delay (T2). Test-retest reliability for self-reported dance training frequency, duration, and PA intensity were analyzed for the LDEQ-T between T1 and T2.

Results:

Adults reported having no/low (n=92), homogenous (n=196), or variable (n=85) lifetime exposures to professional dance classes at T1. Among adults who self-reported homogenous exposures to dance training throughout the lifespan, years of dance training were found to be reliable across all age periods (intraclass correlation coefficient ICC range: 0.83-0.94); as were weeks/month, months/year, and hours/week of dance training [Cohen’s kappa (????) range: 0.35-0.61]; but not any measure of PA intensity. Among adults who self-reported variable exposures to dance training, years of dance training across all age periods (ICC: 0.70-0.96); classes/week, weeks/month, months/year, and hours/week (???? range: 0.29-0.70); and some estimates of PA intensity (???? range: 0.30-0.42) were found to be sufficiently reliable.

Conclusions:

The LDEQ-T appears to be a reliable instrument for quantifying lifetime participation in professional dance training among adults with self-reported low, homogenous, or variable exposures to professional dance classes throughout the lifespan.