Development and Reliability of Children’s Posture Assessment: Parental Questionnaire

Abstract

This study investigates key factors influencing postural quality among children aged 9-14 years, focussing specifically on Flexibility, Strength, and Posture Awareness. Guided by Vygotsky’s Social Constructivist Theory, emphasising social interactions in learning, and Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, highlighting observational learning, this research uniquely incorporates parental assessments to address gaps in existing quantitative literature. A validated 24 item Likert-scale questionnaire was administered to parents following institutional ethical clearance. Reliability testing showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.957). Pearson correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships, notably between Posture Awareness and Quality of Posture (r = 0.731). Regression analysis indicated that Flexibility (B = 0.170, p = 0.020, 95% CI [0.028, 0.312]), Strength (B = 0.262, p = 0.03, 95% CI [0.094, 0.430]), and particularly Posture Awareness (B = 0.609, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.456, 0.762]) significantly predicted Posture Quality, explaining 67.8% of the variance (R2 = 0.678). These findings highlight the vital role of posture awareness and support the implementation of educational and behavioural interventions to enhance musculoskeletal health and overall well-being in children.