Assessing factor structure of the simplified Chinese version of Perceived Physical Literacy Instrument for undergraduates in Mainland China

BACKGROUND: : To evaluate the factor structure of the simplified Chinese version of "Perceived Physical Literacy Instrument" (PPLI) among Chinese undergraduates. METHODS: The PPLI scale (simplified Chinese version) is based on the original 18-item Cantonese version of PPLI scale, which was first constructed and validated to measure the perceived physical literacy (PL) of physical education (PE) teachers and adolescents in Hong Kong. In this study, 622 undergraduates were randomly split into two subsets. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on the first subset (n = 311) and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the second subset (n = 311) for the adapted version based upon the first EFA result. RESULTS: EFA led to an 8-item, 3-factor scale and item loadings ranged from 0.68 to 0.93, Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.79 to 0.83. CFA showed that the construct factor loading ranged from 0.60 to 0.92, which further confirmed the satisfactory factor validity. CONCLUSION: The PPLI (simplified Chinese version) is a reliable and valid instrument to examine the perceived PL for Chinese undergraduates. Unlike the original Cantonese version of PPLI, PPLI (simplified Chinese version) exactly explore the kernel attributes, namely, motivation, confidence and physical competence, and interaction with the environment, of the concept of PL. Build from this instrument, more studies could explore the potential factors that influence the physical activity level, as well as structure appropriate intervention programs to utilize PL as a standard to evaluate the quality of PE courses or foster lifelong physical activity level, among Chinese young generation.