A New Instrument to Define Parental Fear Regarding Feeding Their Children: A Reliability and Validity Study

This study aimed to develop the 'Fear of Feeding My Child- A Parental Report (FF-PR)', which measures the parental fear of feeding their children, and to determine its reliability and validity. The study consists of the developmental phase and reported the content validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct, criterion, and discriminant validity. The study included two groups; 'Group I (N = 90)' who had a neurological disorder and their parents, and 'Group II (N = 60)' who were typically developing children without any feeding and swallowing problems and their parents. Limited literature review, clinical experience, and parental interviews have been used in creating the item pool. A panel of 7 experts assessed the content validity in two Delphi rounds. Cronbach's α measured the internal consistency of each item. The test-retest reliability was determined using the FF-PR scores given by the parents in Group I one week apart. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the construct validity. The Nordic Orofacial Screening Test (NOT-S), Dysphagia Disorder Survey (DDS), and the Turkish version of the Feeding-Swallowing Impact Survey (T-FS-IS) were used for the criterion validity of the FF-PR. The discriminant validity of the FF-PR was determined by comparing the FF-PR scores of the groups and using the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The content validity index was 0.92. The Cronbach's α was found to be high (test: 0.966, retest: 0.969). The FF-PR had an excellent chi-square fit (χ²/df = 123.075/127 p = 0.582) and according to the fit indices; the FF-PR was found to have a good fit. There was a low-moderate correlation between FF-PR and NOT-S (r = 0.335 - 0.462, p < 0.001) and DDS (r = 0.461 - 0.535, p < 0.001) and a moderate-high correlation between FF-PR and T-FS-IS (r = 0.501 - 0.807, p < 0.001). The FF-PR total and subscale scores were higher in Group I than in Group II. In conclusion, the FF-PR scale is a valid and reliable tool for measuring parental fear about feeding their child.