Children's eating attitudes test: validation in a sample of Spanish schoolchildren.
OBJECTIVE
To validate the Spanish version of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT).


METHODS
The factor structure and other psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire were examined using the answers of 38,554 schoolchildren. Diagnostic efficiency was based on a standardized clinical interview of 968 schoolchildren who had previously completed the questionnaire.


RESULTS
Five factors ("preoccupation with thinness," "dieting," "social pressure to eat," "purging," and "preoccupation with food and oral control") explained 46% of the variance. Cronbach's α was .858 for the total scale. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was .851. Sensitivity (SE) was 27% and specificity (SP) 96% for a cut-off of 20. A more appropriate cut-off was 15, where SE and SP were 62% and 90% respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values 27 and 98%.


CONCLUSIONS
The ChEAT psychometric characteristics are adequate. The questionnaire is valid. A cut-off point of 15 is recommended for adolescents.
Department of Medicine, University of Valencia, Spain. luis.rojo@uv.es
Luis
L
Rojo-Moreno
Isabel
I
García-Miralles
Javier
J
Plumed
María
M
Barberá
María M
MM
Morales
Elías
E
Ruiz
Lorenzo
L
Livianos
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D001828:Body Image; D002648:Child; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires