Criterion validity assessment of the 24-hour movement behaviors questionnaire (24HMBQ) for Chinese college students: validation study

Background Accumulating studies have investigated the combined effects of 24-h movement behaviors on physical and mental health. The 24-hour Movement Behaviors Questionnaire (24HMBQ) was recently developed to measure the 24-hour movement behaviors in college students. However, its criterion validity remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the criterion validity of the 24HMBQ against accelerometer-derived data among Chinese college students. Methods Eighty-eight college students (age = 20.2 ± 2.2 years) participated in this study. The Axivity AX3 accelerometers were used to objectively measure physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep levels over a consecutive seven-day period. At the last day, participants completed the 24HMBQ to self-report their PA, SB, and sleep levels. Paired-sample t -test, Spearman’s rank correlation test, and Bland-Altman plot were used to examine the degree of agreement between 24HMBQ and accelerometer data. Results Spearman’s correlation coefficients indicated strong agreement for sleep metrics (Rho = 0.77, p < 0.001 for weekdays; Rho = 0.68, p < 0.001 for weekends) and moderate agreement for SB (Rho = 0.55, p < 0.001 for weekdays; Rho = 0.33, p < 0.01 for weekends) between 24HMBQ and accelerometer measurements. However, lower correlations were observed for physical activities including light PA (Rho = 0.30, p < 0.01) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA; Rho = 0.15, p > 0.05). Conclusion The 24HMBQ showed good criterion validity for sleep and moderate validity for sedentary behavior, but limited validity for physical activity (especially MVPA).