Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire in Spanish Parents of Schoolchildren

Objective: To test the reliability and factorial validity of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) within a Spanish sample.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: All schools in a Spanish Mediterranean city of about 100,000 inhabitants.

Participants: From a potential population of 1,623 children (mean age, 8.5 years), 960 parents (459 fathers and 501 mothers) of 515 children participated (32% response).

Main outcome measure(s): The Spanish version of the CFQ was completed by both parents. Body mass index of the children was obtained from measured heights and weights. Parents reported their anthropometric and employment data.

Analysis: Reliability was assessed using Cronbach α. Factorial validity was examined by Procrustes semi-confirmatory factor and confirmatory factor analyses.

Results: Seven major factors with loadings similar to those in the original questionnaire were found: perceived responsibility, perceived parent weight, perceived child weight, concern about child weight (CN), pressure to eat (PE), monitoring, and restriction. Reliability was adequate for each factor and overall CFQ (α = .86). Goodness of fit indexes for confirmatory factor analysis solutions was acceptable. Item loadings ranged from 0.30 to 0.92. The factor of CN was associated with restriction [multivariate coefficient (R(2)) = 0.14; P < .001] and PE (R(2) = 0.36; P< .001). Child's body mass index showed a negative association with PE (R(2) = 0.11; P < .001) and a positive association with CN (R(2) = 0.25; P < .001) and factors related to feeding control (monitoring and restriction, R(2) = 0.04 and R(2) = 0.09, respectively; P < .001).

Conclusions and implications: Results support the reliability and validity of the CFQ for a Spanish population, allowing for comparisons across cultures. The CFQ may be useful to identify parental feeding attitudes that can contribute to preventing risky eating behaviors in their children.