Construct and Criterion Validity of the Comprehensive Food Skills Questionnaire (CFSQ).

Area of Science:

• Nutrition and Food Science
• Educational Assessment
• Public Health Interventions

Background:

• Teaching kitchens are expanding, necessitating validated tools to measure food skills.
• The existing 39-item Food Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) has established validity and reliability.
• An 8-item addition created the Comprehensive Food Skills Questionnaire (CFSQ), requiring further validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the construct and criterion validity of the Comprehensive Food Skills Questionnaire (CFSQ).

Main Methods:

• A pre-post-study design was employed with students in foods and nutrition courses at a Canadian university.
• The CFSQ was administered pre- and post-course to assess total food skills (TFS) across three domains.
• Statistical analyses included t-tests, ANOVAs, Bland-Altman plots, and linear regression to assess validity.

Main Results:

• The CFSQ demonstrated significant differences in TFS between known groups (e.g., females vs. males, primary vs. non-primary cooks).
• Total food skills significantly increased from pre- to post-course, indicating responsiveness.
• Criterion validity was supported, with no significant bias found between CFSQ scores and course evaluations.

Conclusions:

• The Comprehensive Food Skills Questionnaire (CFSQ) exhibits good construct and criterion validity.
• The CFSQ is suitable for assessing food skills in both research and practice settings within teaching kitchens.
• This validated tool supports the evaluation of food skills education programs.