Italian Version of the Perceived Physical Ability Scale

Abstract

The Perceived Physical Ability scale developed by Ryckman, Robbins, Thornton, and Cantrell in 1982 was translated into the Italian language and modified to be applicable to children and youth. The scale was administered to 2,546 subjects, 1,269 females and 1,277 males, aged 10 to 20 years. Composed of 10 items, the scale assesses an individual's perception of his physical ability and motor performance. The scale showed good reliability and discriminative capacity. From factor analysis, two factors linked to perceptions of physical efficiency and difficulties with movements emerged. Findings with this scale showed that higher scores on Perceived Physical Ability were reported for males than for females, and for subjects with sport experience than for subjects without. Further, high scores on Perceived Physical Ability tended to be associated with high scores on Self-perception, Confidence with own body, and Positive Attitude when facing motor tasks.