ACTIVITY LEVEL AND BEHAVIORAL STYLE IN YOUNG CHILDREN

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Abstract
A portable microcomputer activity recorder was used to measure a 24-hour sample of activity level in 4- and 8-yr-old children. Recorded activity level was not related to parental perception of activity level and did not differentiate children with differing behavioral styles. Parental perception of activity level, on the other hand, significantly differentiated children''s behavioral style. Parents may be responding to a composite image of the child''s behavioral style when they rate activity level. We urge caution in the use of the term ''activity level'', which may have different meanings according to how it is measured.