title: Measuring eating competence: psychometric properties and validity of the ecSatter Inventory.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA. lohseb@psu.edu
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lohse
authors.forename: Ellyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Satter
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horacek
authors.forename: Tesfayi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gebreselassie
authors.forename: Mary Jane
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Oakland
mesh_terms: 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*