THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARENTAL FEEDING BEHAVIORS QUESTIONNAIRE (PFBQ) FOR INDONESIAN PARENTS WITH TODDLERS

Abstract

Feeding behaviors of parents is one significant factor that plays an important role in meeting the toddlers’ nutritional needs that impact to toddlers’ health as ultimate goals. A valid and reliable instrument is essential, however, there is a lack valid and reliable instrument measuring the feeding behaviors of parents to maintain adequate food intake for their toddlers in Indonesia. The objectives of the study were to develop an instrument the Parental Feeding Behaviors Questionnaire (PFBQ) and to test a psychometric properties of this instrument including validity and reliability. Using instrument development design, an initial 70-items instrument was developed after a comprehensive literature review which was submitted to be reviewed and criticized by six experts to ensure that items represented critical attributes and to evaluate the content validity of each item. The pre-testing of internal consistency of the first draft 80-items instrument was conducted by a convenience sampling of 30 parents who had toddlers both in urban and rural area in Yogyakarta, Indonesian. The main study was conducted to test a psychometric properties of the PFBQ by 696 parents with toddlers. In order to validate the PFBQ, construct validity using confirmatory factor analysis and the contrasted group technique were conducted. And the reliability of this instrument was examined construct reliability and test-retest reliability. The result of the main study showed that t-test of all 56 indicators greater than 1.96 and statistically significant (p< .01) which 54 items had loading factor ranged .334-.692, with two items had loading factor < .3, and AVE ranged .72-.83. The final model of the PFBQ was a suitable model for the Indonesian parents with the value of (χ2= 2381.31; p=0.000; df=1355; χ2/df ratio=1.76; CFI= .91; TLI= .90; RMSEA= .03; SRMR= .04). The contrasted group technique showed that significantly different on the parental feeding behaviors between parents of well-nourished and malnourished toddlers (p=.047). The test retest reliability of the PFBQ was acceptable (Pearson’s correlation= .644) and construct reliability for the total item was .88 with ranged .92-.96. In the initial examination, the PFBQ showed as a valid and reliable instrument to measure feeding behaviors of parents with toddlers. This instrument can be used not only by nurses but also by other health professionals who work with toddlers and their parents in order to achieve toddlers’ health. However, more studies are required before it is established as an acceptable tool for measuring feeding behaviors of parents with toddlers in other areas.