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The children's eating behavior inventory: reliability and validity results
L A Archer1, P L Rosenbaum, D L Streiner
1Department of Psychology, Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Childhood eating and mealtime problems are prevalent. The Children's Eating Behavior Inventory (CEBI) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing these feeding issues in children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Developmental Disorders
Background:
- Eating and mealtime problems are frequent in children across various developmental stages and medical conditions.
- A standardized assessment tool for childhood feeding issues is currently lacking.
- Existing feeding assessments do not adequately capture the transactional nature of parent-child interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate the Children's Eating Behavior Inventory (CEBI) as a reliable instrument for assessing childhood eating problems.
- To utilize a transactional/systemic framework of parent-child relationships in the CEBI's design.
- To establish the reliability and construct validity of the CEBI.
Main Methods:
- The Children's Eating Behavior Inventory (CEBI) was developed based on a transactional/systemic model of parent-child interactions.
- Data were collected from 206 mothers of non-clinic children and 110 mothers of clinic-referred children.
- Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity were assessed.
Main Results:
- The CEBI demonstrated strong test-retest reliability and internal consistency, meeting established criteria for instrument reliability.
- Significant differences in mean total eating problem scores were found between clinic and non-clinic groups, supporting construct validity.
- Mothers of clinic-referred children perceived a significantly higher number of eating problems compared to mothers of non-clinic children.
Conclusions:
- The Children's Eating Behavior Inventory (CEBI) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing childhood eating and mealtime problems.
- The CEBI can differentiate between children with and without eating problems, aiding in clinical assessment.
- The inventory's development, based on a transactional/systemic framework, offers a nuanced approach to understanding feeding difficulties in children.
Abstract:
Eating and mealtime problems are common in childhood. They occur across a broad age span, in normally developing children and in a wide variety of developmental and medical disorders. There is no currently available standard instrument by which to assess these problems. The Children's Eating Behavior Inventory (CEBI) was developed according to a conceptual framework based upon a transactional/systemic understanding of parent-child relationships. It was completed by 206 mothers of nonclinic children and 110 mothers of clinic children. Results of test-retest and internal reliability testing indicate that the CEBI meets criteria for instrument reliability. Construct validity is demonstrated by the significant difference between the clinic and nonclinic groups in the mean total eating problem score and in the mean number of items perceived to be a problem.