Adolescents' perception of parental feeding practices: Adaptation and validation of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire for Brazilian adolescents-The CFPQ-Teen.

BACKGROUND

Parental feeding practices may play a key role in dietary habits and nutritional status of adolescents, but research from adolescents' point of view on this topic is scarce.

OBJECTIVE

To adapt and validate an instrument of parental feeding practices as perceived by adolescents in a Brazilian setting.

METHODS

The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire was translated into Portuguese and adapted to be answered by adolescents (ages 12 to 18). Content analysis and FACE validity to assess cultural equivalence was undertaken by experts in the adolescent nutritional and psychological fields. Pilot study was evaluated in 23 adolescents. The final version was administered to 41 students to assess instrument reproducibility (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient). Internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) and construct validity (Confirmatory Factor Analysis) were assessed in a third sample of 307 adolescents.

RESULTS

Experts and adolescents considered content validity as appropriate. In reproducibility analysis (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient), 10 of the 12 factors were above 0.7. The factors "teaching about nutrition" and "food as reward" obtained values of 0.60 and 0.68, respectively. The Cronbach's Alpha of the whole scale was 0.83 and alphas for subscales ranged from 0.52 to 0.85; the factors "teaching about nutrition" and "food as a reward" had the lowest values (0.52). After removing these two factors, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the structural model was appropriate. The final scale was made up of 10 factors with 43 questions.

CONCLUSIONS

The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire-Teen demonstrates validity and reliability, and is a suitable tool to evaluate the perceptions of adolescents regarding parental feeding practices.