[Preliminary development and evaluation of a scale to assess caregivers' responsive feeding behaviors for children...

To develop a scale for evaluating responsive feeding behaviors among caregivers of children aged 0-24 months in China, and to examine its reliability and validity.

An initial item pool was constructed through literature review, expert panel discussions, and caregiver interviews. Items were screened and revised using expert consultation and item analysis. A total of 523 caregivers of children aged 0-24 months were randomly selected from urban community health service centers in Nanjing for a formal survey to assess the scale's reliability and validity.

The scale comprised two age-specific subscales: 0-6 months (4 dimensions, 18 items) and 7-24 months (5 dimensions, 29 items). Cronbach's alpha values for the two subscales were 0.766 and 0.850, respectively; split-half reliability coefficients were 0.616 and 0.716. Content validity indices were 0.83 for the 0-6 months subscale and 0.86 for the 7-24 months subscale. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural validity of both subscales, with all fit indices within acceptable ranges.

The two age-specific subscales demonstrate good reliability and validity and can serve as practical tools for assessing caregivers' responsive feeding behaviors in children aged 0-24 months, suitable for clinical application and dissemination.