Psychometric properties of the Kids' Child Feeding Questionnaire-Restriction.

BACKGROUND: Research exploring parental restrictive feeding is mixed and shows that it both negatively and positively affects children's dietary intake. One hypothesis for these inconsistent findings is the use of parent-report vs. youth-report measures of parental restrictive feeding, but there are limited psychometrically-sound youth-report measures of this construct. Therefore, the current study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of parent restrictive feeding practices, the Kids' Child Feeding Questionnaire-Restriction (KCFQ-R), from the youth perspective.

METHODS: The 7-item, youth-report KCFQ-R is composed of the restriction subscale from the Kids' Child Feeding Questionnaire. This measure was completed by 225 youth attending a primary care appointment.

RESULTS: Initial exploratory factor analysis and communalities yielded a single factor solution explaining 39.93% of the variability in the data. Internal consistency using the seven items was .73. The KCFQ-R demonstrated external validity through its significant relationship with parent concern about child overweight.

CONCLUSIONS: Results provide preliminary support that the KCFQ-R is a psychometrically sound and reliable measure of youth-reported parental restrictive feeding practices. Given the mixed research on the effects of parent-reported parental feeding restriction on various child outcomes, this youth-report measure may help clarify these relationships. Future research should examine youth-report measures of other parent feeding domains.