Measurement invariance of the comprehensive feeding practices questionnaire in dual-earner parents with adolescent children in Chile

Abstract

The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) has been evaluated in international studies, but the evaluation of its psychometric properties in Spanish, and in particular for parents of adolescents is still limited, and the invariance of measurement according to gender has not been evaluated. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: (1) To adapt the five-factor model of the CFPQ instrument to Spanish; (2) To examine the psychometric properties of this adaptation; and (3) To evaluate the measurement invariance of the model to verify the equivalence of measurement of the perceptions of food parenting practices between mothers and fathers belonging to nuclear, dual-earner families with adolescent children. Participants were 946 mothers and fathers from Southern Chile. Results showed that the conceptual equivalence for the CFPQ was achieved. An exploratory factor analysis was performed for a five-factor model: Monitoring, Child control, Restriction for weight control, Modeling and Environment. Horn’s parallel analysis identified four factors, while factor loading analysis determined the removal of the environment factor. Confirmatory factor analysis presented good reliability values. Convergent and discriminant validity was confirmed, and medium-to-high levels of goodness of fit were obtained, eliminating two items. Results supported a final model of four factors and 19 items. Multigroup analysis of the measurement model verified the configural and metric invariance between fathers and mothers, while the scalar and strict partial invariance was verified. These findings are a relevant guide to measure factorial scores in the four-factor model of the CFPQ, establishing a characterization of feeding practices of parents and adolescents.

Children’s perception of food parenting practices: adaptation and validation of the comprehensive feeding practices questionnaire in Chilean adolescents

“…In light of the considerable increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Spanish-speaking Latin American adolescents ( 5 ) and the need to conduct research with a gender perspective ( 55 ), the present study focused on adapting and validating the version of CFPQ-Teen ( 7 ) in a Spanish-speaking Latin American country considering possible differences between female and male adolescents. Thus, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to integrate the adaptation of the CFPQ-Teen to Spanish, validate it, assess its psychometric properties, estimate the measurement invariance according to the adolescents’ gender, and compare the scores of the factors, in a reduced four-factor model selected based on the factor stability reported in previous studies ( 43 – 47 ).…”

“…The need to validate this instrument cross-culturally led to Ángel et al ( 90 ) adapting the CFPQ to Spanish in a sample of Mexican mothers. Meanwhile, Del Valle et al ( 43 ) adapted and validated a Spanish five-factor model version of the CFPQ ( 42 ) to be answered by parents of adolescents in Chile, in addition to considering measurement invariance according to the parent’s gender. However, given the differences between what the parents and children state regarding FPP that the parent offer ( 91 ), it is necessary to consider the adolescents’ responded perceptions of the FPP that their parents exercise in the home.…”

“…The applied instrument corresponded to the CFPQ-Teen ( 7 ). The selection of the number of factors to be used in this study is based on the reduction and validation of the CFPQ instrument carried out in Chile by Del Valle et al ( 43 ). The adolescents responded the five-factor model the CFPQ-Teen: Monitoring, which assesses the adolescents’ perception of the frequency with which parents monitor the consumption of unhealthy foods; Adolescent Control, which assesses the frequency at which parents are more permissive regarding food behavior and habits in adolescents; Restriction for weight control, assesses the adolescents’ perception of parental control over food intake to decrease or maintain their weight; Parental Modeling, assesses how adolescents perceive their parents as a model or reference for them regarding healthy food habits; and Environment, measures the availability of healthy foods at home.…”

“…For instance, studies conducted with the CFPQ ( 41 ), in Brazil in samples of parents of school-aged children ( 45 , 48 ), and in Greece with a sample of parents with children between 2 and 12 years ( 46 ), reported a model of only six of the 12 original factors. The factors that have shown greater stability in previous studies with parents are Monitoring [e.g., ( 13 , 30 , 43 )], Control [e.g., ( 43 )], Restriction for weight control [e.g., ( 43 , 49 – 51 )], Modeling [e.g., ( 43 , 52 , 53 )], and Environment [e.g., ( 13 , 51 )].…”

Validation of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire among parents of 5- to 7-year-old children in Sweden

“…This is investigated by measurement invariance testing which analyses participants’ answers to test whether they are interpreting questions in the same way. Only one paper has conducted measurement invariance testing on the CFPQ: a study using the CFPQ with parents of adolescents in Chile, which looked at measurement invariance across parental sex ( del Valle et al, 2023 ).…”