Confirmatory factor analysis of the child-feeding questionnaire among parents of adolescents

We investigated the validity of the child-feeding questionnaire (CFQ) among parents of adolescents. The original CFQ was developed to assess perceptions of obesity-proneness and child-feeding practices among parents of 2- to 11-year-old children. We modified the CFQ to make it applicable to parents of adolescents and added one item on monitoring sugared beverages. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using the latent variable approach. Factor scores were related to adolescent body mass index percentiles (BMI%) using structural equation modeling. The modified CFQ was completed by 260 parent/guardians (mean age 39.8 years; 92% female; 55% Black, 35% White, 10% Other). The original published measurement model was fit to our sample and yielded an acceptable fit (CFI=0.95, TLI=0.93, RMSEA=0.05). Adding the extra variables decreased the fit; however, minor modifications improved the fit without changing the factor structure (CFI=0.95, TLI=0.94, RMSEA=0.05). Cronbach's alphas for the subscales ranged from 0.60 to 0.88. The factors, parental perceptions of child weight, concern for child weight, monitoring and restriction were positively associated, and pressure to eat was inversely associated with adolescent BMI%. In conclusion, the psychometric properties of the modified CFQ tested among parents of a multi-ethnic adolescent sample were similar to those of the original CFQ.