Validating the children's eating behaviour questionnaire in a UK sample: A suitable tool for mothers and fathers

Abstract

Children's eating behaviour is a complex construct linked to various health, social, and psychological outcomes. The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ)assesses parents' perceptions of children's eating behaviours across eight subscales: food fussiness, enjoyment of food, food responsiveness, satiety responsiveness, desire to drink, slowness in eating, and emotional under- and overeating. Given that the initial validation of the CEBQ dates back to the early 2000s, this study aimed to (1) evaluate the psychometric properties of the CEBQ in a UK sample using current psychometric recommendations and (2) examine its measurement invariance based on parental sex. A total of 994 caregivers (196 fathers and 798 mothers) of children aged 3-5 years completed the questionnaire. The performance of the scale revealed that 23 items exhibited ceiling or floor effects or failed to meet recommended item-total correlation coefficients. Exploratory factor analysis supported an eight-factor, 34-item structure, which was confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis: X = 2129.845 (df = 499; p < 0.001), TLI = 0.911, CFI = 0.921, RMSEA = 0.083 (90 % CI 0.079-0.087) and SRMR = 0.080. All factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency (omega 3 values over 0.7). Measurement invariance testing confirmed strict invariance by parental sex, indicating the instrument performs equivalently for mothers and fathers. These findings support the use of the revised 34-item CEBQ with its eight original factors for both maternal and paternal respondents. However, future research should consider revising certain CEBQ items included to strengthen its capacity to capture variations in children's eating behaviour, and to provide a more accurate evaluation of the construct.