Measuring eating competence: psychometric properties and validity of the ecSatter Inventory.
OBJECTIVE
Assess validity of the ecSatter Inventory (ecSI) to measure eating competence (EC).


METHODS
Concurrent administration of ecSI with validated measures of eating behaviors using on-line and paper-pencil formats.


METHODS
The on-line survey was completed by 370 participants; 462 completed the paper version.


METHODS
Participants included 863 adults with 832 usable surveys from respondents (mean age 36.2 +/- 13.4 years) without eating disorders, mostly female, white, educated, overweight, physically active, and food secure. Of those indicating intent to complete the on-line survey, 80.3% did so; 54% of mailed surveys were returned.


METHODS
Eating and food behaviors compared among EC tertiles and between dichotomous EC categories; internal consistency of ecSI.


METHODS
Analysis of variance, independent t tests, chi-square, factor analysis, logistic regression. Significance level was P < .05.


RESULTS
Mean ecSI score was 31.1 +/- 7.5. ecSI included 4 subscales with internal reliability and content validity. Construct validity was supported by specific behavioral profiles for ecSI tertiles and ecSI dichotomized categories. Persons unsatisfied with weight were 54% less likely to be EC; unit increase in the food like index was associated with nearly 3 times greater likelihood of being EC.


CONCLUSIONS
The ecSatter Inventory is a valid measure of EC and can be used for descriptive and outcome measurements.
Lohse
Barbara
B
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA. lohseb@psu.edu
Satter
Ellyn
E
Horacek
Tanya
T
Gebreselassie
Tesfayi
T
Oakland
Mary Jane
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*