Validation of the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire in a low-income preschool-aged sample in the United States

Abstract

The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ; Wardle, Guthrie, Sanderson, & Rapoport, 2001) is a widely used measure of child eating behaviors. Yet, only one study has examined the factor structure of the CEBQ among low-income children. In the current study, we examined the internal consistency, factor structure, and validity of the CEBQ among 1002 low-income preschool-age children recruited from Head Start locations in the United States. Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated the CEBQ evidenced a reasonable fit to the data. Results also indicate that CEBQ subscales demonstrate good internal reliability (α's ≥70) and validity, with 7 of the 8 subscales associated with children's BMI z-scores in the expected directions. Equivalent factor loadings and indicator means across White and Black non-Hispanic participants were found, supporting measurement invariance between these two groups. In sum, our study supports the factor structure of the CEBQ among low-income preschool-aged children in the United States.