Validity of the nursing child assessment feeding scale during toddlerhood

This study examined the validity of the Nursing Child Assessment of Feeding Scale (NCAFS) during toddlerhood, using a longitudinal design to assess the scale's convergence with the Toddler Snack Scale (TSS) between 12 and 36 months, and comparing videotaped interactions of 116 mother-toddler dyads. Differences between TSS mutuality classifications were found for the NCAFS subscales at each age. The pattern of mean scores followed expected directions at 12 and 36 months, but only two of the six NCAFS subscales maintained this pattern at 24 months. Significant differences were found between TSS mutuality classifications and NCAFS dyadic scores at each age. With one exception, "connected" and "marginal" dyads had consistently higher dyadic scores than dyads classified as "poor" in mutuality. There were no differences between connected and marginal dyads. The NCAFS does not appear to capture control-autonomy balance as well as the TSS, and a revision for toddlerhood may be needed.