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Published on: February 2, 2017
Factor analysis of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire in a large sample of children
Jillian J Haszard1, Sheila M Williams, Anna M Dawson
1Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Insights
Parental feeding practices significantly influence children's weight and eating habits. A revised Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) identified five key factors: Healthy Eating Guidance, Monitoring, Parent Pressure, Restriction, and Child Control.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutrition Science
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Parental feeding practices are crucial for child weight and eating behaviors.
- The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) was initially developed with 12 factors in small samples.
- A large, diverse sample of 1013 children aged 4-8 years was used for validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the factor structure of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ).
- To identify a robust set of parental feeding practice scales applicable to diverse populations.
Main Methods:
- Confirmatory factor analysis of the original 12-factor CFPQ model.
- Exploratory factor analysis to identify new scales.
- Further analyses to support the validity of the identified scales.
Main Results:
- The original 12-factor CFPQ model did not fit the data well.
- A five-factor model emerged: Healthy Eating Guidance, Monitoring, Parent Pressure, Restriction, and Child Control.
- Parental concerns about child weight (overweight/underweight) and importance of a healthy diet correlated with specific feeding practices.
Conclusions:
- The revised five-factor CFPQ provides a well-supported and applicable measure of parental feeding practices.
- These practices are associated with parental concerns regarding child weight and dietary importance.
- The findings offer valuable insights for interventions promoting healthy child eating behaviors across diverse groups.
Abstract:
How parents feed their children may impact on their weight and eating behaviours, both now and in the future. The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) proposes to measure parental feeding practices and was originally developed using 12 factors in relatively small, homogenous samples. In contrast the present study used a large, diverse sample (n=1013) of children aged 4-8years. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original 12-factor model was not a good fit and that several factors were strongly inter-correlated. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis yielded five scales of interest: Healthy Eating Guidance, Monitoring, Parent Pressure, Restriction and Child Control. These scales were largely supported by further analyses in these data. Parents who were concerned about their child being overweight reported more Healthy Eating Guidance and Restriction and less Parent Pressure, whereas parents concerned about their child being underweight used more Parent Pressure and less Healthy Eating Guidance. Parents who rated a healthy diet for their child as very important undertook more Healthy Eating Guidance and Monitoring of food intake and less Child Control. These five factors from the CFPQ provide a well-supported and useful set of feeding practices that could be applicable to a wide variety of population groups.
