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Development and Preliminary Evaluation of Chinese Preschoolers' Caregivers' Feeding Behavior Scale
Insights
A new scale assesses Chinese caregivers' feeding behaviors in preschoolers, crucial for preventing obesity. The Chinese Preschoolers' Caregivers' Feeding Behavior Scale (CPCFBS) shows good reliability and validity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Behavioral Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Caregivers' feeding behaviors significantly influence preschooler overweight and obesity development.
- No validated scale currently exists for assessing these behaviors in Chinese preschoolers' caregivers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate the Chinese Preschoolers' Caregivers' Feeding Behavior Scale (CPCFBS).
- To assess the scale's reliability, validity, and discriminative ability in a Chinese context.
Main Methods:
- Scale development involved literature review, qualitative interviews, and expert/caregiver reviews.
- Three rounds of investigation with 146-768 valid questionnaires assessed scale properties.
- Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, reliability, and validity tests were performed.
Main Results:
- The 35-item, seven-dimension CPCFBS demonstrated strong psychometric properties.
- Cronbach's alpha was .91, split-half reliability was 0.89, and test-retest reliability was 0.85.
- Child and caregiver demographics correlated with feeding behaviors.
Conclusions:
- The CPCFBS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing preschooler caregiver feeding behaviors in China.
- Further validation in diverse Chinese populations with larger samples is recommended.
Background:
Caregivers' feeding behavior plays a crucial role in the development of overweight and obesity in preschoolers. However, to date, there is no broadly accepted scale or questionnaire for assessing preschoolers' caregivers' feeding behavior in China.
Objective:
To develop a scale that can be used to assess preschoolers' caregivers' feeding behavior in China and to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the scale's reliability, validity, and discriminative ability.
Design:
The scale was created through a literature review and qualitative interviews with the target population. Items were reviewed by 50 caregivers of preschoolers and 10 experienced pediatricians, and 95 items were selected to form a draft scale. The draft scale underwent three rounds of investigation, and the results from these evaluations were used to select items that formed the final scale.
Participants/Setting:
Three groups of caregivers (n=175, 400, and 912) were sampled and stratified from urban and suburban kindergartens in the cities of Jinan and Xi'an between March 2016 and October 2017 to participate in evaluations of the draft scale. From these caregiver groups, 146, 362, and 768 participants completed valid questionnaires, respectively, which were used in the scale's evaluation.
Primary Outcome Measures:
The general demographic data of the participants and scores of each item in the scale were the primary outcome measures.
Statistical Analyses Performed:
Exploratory factor analysis and variability analysis were used to evaluate the draft scale, based on data from two rounds of investigation. The structure of the scale was explored through confirmatory factor analysis, and its reliability, construct validity, and discriminative ability were evaluated based on data from a third round of investigation.
Results:
The Chinese Preschoolers' Caregivers' Feeding Behavior Scale (CPCFBS) consisted of 35 items and seven dimensions; the total cumulative variance contribution rate was 58.6%; the Cronbach's α coefficient was .91; the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.89; and the test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.85. The age and weight status of the children and the caregivers' age and education levels, as well as family incomes and child-caregiver relationships, were correlated with feeding behavior.
Conclusions:
The CPCFBS appeared to have good reliability and construct validity in specific Chinese populations. Future studies are needed to confirm existing findings in different Chinese populations with larger sample sizes.
