Abstract
BackgroundInsight in parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants and parenting practices are important to inform childhood obesity prevention. Therefore, reliable and valid tools to measure these variables in large-scale population research are needed. The objective of the current study was to examine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the parent questionnaire used in the ENERGY-project, assessing parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants, and parenting practices among parents of 10–12 year old children.FindingsWe collected data among parents (n = 316 in the test-retest reliability study; n = 109 in the construct validity study) of 10–12 year-old children in six European countries, i.e. Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and percentage agreement comparing scores from two measurements, administered one week apart. To assess construct validity, the agreement between questionnaire responses and a subsequent interview was assessed using ICC and percentage agreement.All but one item showed good to excellent test-retest reliability as indicated by ICCs > .60 or percentage agreement ≥ 75%. Construct validity appeared to be good to excellent for 92 out of 121 items, as indicated by ICCs > .60 or percentage agreement ≥ 75%. From the other 29 items, construct validity was moderate for 24 and poor for 5 items.ConclusionsThe reliability and construct validity of the items of the ENERGY-parent questionnaire on multiple energy balance-related behaviours, their potential determinants, and parenting practices appears to be good. Based on the results of the validity study, we strongly recommend adapting parts of the ENERGY-parent questionnaire if used in future research.
Highlights
Insight in parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants and parenting practices are important to inform childhood obesity prevention
We found that the ENERGY-child questionnaire has good test-retest reliability and moderate to good construct validity for the large majority of items
If intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) values were lower than .40/.60/.80 but the percentage agreement was equal to or higher than 60%/75%/90%, we reported the percentage agreement [9]
Summary
Insight in parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants and parenting practices are important to inform childhood obesity prevention. Reliable and valid tools to measure these variables in large-scale population research are needed. The objective of the current study was to examine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the parent questionnaire used in the ENERGY-project, assessing parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants, and parenting practices among parents of 10–12 year old children. Development of effective interventions requires insight into which specific EBRBs are most relevant and into the correlates and determinants of these behaviours. Parental and home-environmental factors are crucial determinants of children’s EBRBs and related weight status [1]. No established valid and reliable measures that could be administrated in large population studies across Europe were available
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