The Food Parenting Inventory: Factor structure, reliability, and validity in a low-income, Latina sample

Abstract

Currently, a number of questionnaires exist assessing a wide range of food parenting practices with young children. In 2016, a concept map covering three food parenting domains—coercive control, parental structure, and autonomy support—was published along with a critical review of the literature. Mapping existing food parenting questionnaires onto these concepts showed that the major focus had been on coercive control. Important aspects of the parenting process around feeding have been inadvertently omitted—parental responsiveness to children's fullness cues, parental strategies to encourage children to try new foods, and parental practices related to children's portion sizes. To address this, we developed the Food Parenting Inventory (FPI) targeting encouragement of new foods, mealtime structure, and external control. This new questionnaire draws from a variety of sources including the Child Feeding Questionnaire and the Family Rituals Questionnaire. The FPI addresses most of the food parenting practices outlined in the concept map with the exception of food availability/accessibility, food preparation, and praise. Psychometrics were assessed with a sample of 248 low-income, Latina mothers who completed questionnaires on food parenting practices, parental feeding styles, and child eating behaviors. Findings suggest good initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the FPI among Latina families with preschoolers. This questionnaire advances the field of food parenting by targeting neglected constructs that play an important role in the development of child eating behaviors.