Confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance of the Child Feeding Questionnaire in low-income Hispanic and African-American mothers with preschool-age children.
Validation work of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) in low-income minority samples suggests a need for further conceptual refinement of this instrument. Using confirmatory factor analysis, this study evaluated 5- and 6-factor models on a large sample of African-American and Hispanic mothers with preschool-age children (n = 962). The 5-factor model included: 'perceived responsibility', 'concern about child's weight', 'restriction', 'pressure to eat', and 'monitoring' and the 6-factor model also tested 'food as a reward'. Multi-group analysis assessed measurement invariance by race/ethnicity. In the 5-factor model, two low-loading items from 'restriction' and one low-variance item from 'perceived responsibility' were dropped to achieve fit. Only removal of the low-variance item was needed to achieve fit in the 6-factor model. Invariance analyses demonstrated differences in factor loadings. This finding suggests African-American and Hispanic mothers may vary in their interpretation of some CFQ items and use of cognitive interviews could enhance item interpretation. Our results also demonstrated that 'food as a reward' is a plausible construct among a low-income minority sample and adds to the evidence that this factor resonates conceptually with parents of preschoolers; however, further testing is needed to determine the validity of this factor with older age groups.
Institute of Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, United States; Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, United States. Electronic address: akong@uic.edu.
Angela
A
Kong
Institute of Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, United States.
Ganga
G
Vijayasiri
Institute of Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, United States; University of Illinois Cancer Center, Chicago, IL 60612, United States; Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States; Division of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
Marian L
ML
Fitzgibbon
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
Linda A
LA
Schiffer
Institute of Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, United States; Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States.
Richard T
RT
Campbell
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004435:Eating / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology; D012201:Reward; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
African-American; Child feeding questionnaire; Hispanic; Low-income; Validation