title: Reliability of primary caregivers reports on lifestyle behaviours of European pre-school children: the ToyBox-study.
abstract: Reliable assessments of health-related behaviours are necessary for accurate evaluation on the efficiency of public health interventions. The aim of the current study was to examine the reliability of a self-administered primary caregivers questionnaire (PCQ) used in the ToyBox-intervention. The questionnaire consisted of six sections addressing sociodemographic and perinatal factors, water and beverages consumption, physical activity, snacking and sedentary behaviours. Parents/caregivers from six countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain) were asked to complete the questionnaire twice within a 2-week interval. A total of 93 questionnaires were collected. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Reliability of the six questionnaire sections was assessed. A stronger agreement was observed in the questions addressing sociodemographic and perinatal factors as opposed to questions addressing behaviours. Findings showed that 92% of the ToyBox PCQ had a moderate-to-excellent test-retest reliability (defined as ICC values from 0.41 to 1) and less than 8% poor test-retest reliability (ICC < 0.40). Out of the total ICC values, 67% showed good-to-excellent reliability (ICC from 0.61 to 1). We conclude that the PCQ is a reliable tool to assess sociodemographic characteristics, perinatal factors and lifestyle behaviours of pre-school children and their families participating in the ToyBox-intervention.
authors.affiliation: GENUD (Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) Research Group, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: González-Gil
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mouratidou
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cardon
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Androutsos
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Bourdeaudhuij
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Góźdź
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Usheva
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Birnbaum
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Manios
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Moreno
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D010988:Play and Playthings; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012572:School Health Services; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: European; lifestyle; pre-schoolers; reliability