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Table 1 Description of instruments assessing parental feeding practices (in ascending order by year of publication)

From: Measuring parent food practices: a systematic review of existing measures and examination of instruments

Author, year and name of instrument

# items

Relevant1scales (# items, α)

Methods of administration

Sample description

Jensen (1983) Family Routines Inventory [24, 25]

28

meals (3)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children aged 16 years or younger, Black and white, working and middle class

Stanek (1990) Eating Environment [26]

18

food-related behavior (18)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 2-5 year old children

Seagren (1991) Parents’ Behavior and Attitudes Toward their Children’s Food Intake [27]

32

parent’s control of child food behavior (17)

Self-administered paper survey

Mothers of 3-4 year old children, primarily white, low income

Sherman (1992) Maternal Feeding Practices Questionnaire [28]

15

pushy feeding practices (15)

Interview and self-administered paper survey

Parents of 0-5 year old children, white and Hispanic populations, low income

Davies (1993) About Your Child’s Eating [29, 30]

25

positive mealtime environment (5, α = 0.80), parent aversion to mealtime (5, α = 0.70)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 8-18 year old children, 50% with cancer or chronic illness

Crist (1994) Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale [31]

35

parent’s feelings/strategies (10, α = 0.74)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 1-7 year old children, 50% had cystic fibrosis

Sallis (1995) Study of Children’s Activity and Nutrition [32]

135

daily meals eaten together (3), food given as a reward (3, α = 0.59), parenting control of eating (9, α = 0.39)

In-person interview

Parents of 4 year old children, white and Mexican American populations

Koivisto (1996) Mealtime Practices [33]

20

prompt and assure (5), feel and play and idol (3), rename (1), instrumental and reward (3), postpone meals (1), praise (1), decide portion (1), put on plate (1), rush and nag (2), avoid (1), child decides portion (1)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 2-17 year old children, Swedish population

Humphry (1997) Feeding Stories [34]

27

no big deal (9, α = 0.70), avoid mess (11, α = 0.76), nurture vs. independence (7, α = 0.71)

In-person interview

Parents of 4-28 month old children, Black and white, lower education

De Bourdeaudhuij (1998) Interactions Around Food [35, 36]

30

routines (6), communication (9), rules (7)

Computer- assisted, self-administered

Parents and their children aged 12-18 years old, Belgian population

Golan (1998) Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire [37, 38]

29

stimulus exposure (8, α = 0.78), eating related to hunger (4, α = 0.86), eating style (13, α = 0.88)

Not specified

Parents of 6-11 year old children, Israeli middle class

Hupkens (1998) Food Rules [39]

20

food rules (20)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 4-14 year old children, Belgian and German populations, middle to lower SES

Fisher (1999) Parental Restriction [40]

6

parental restriction of access to the experimental foods at home (6, α = 0.74-0.81)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 3-6 year old children, primarily white

Carper (2000) Kids’ Version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire [41]

30

restriction (16, α = 0.60), pressure to eat (14, α = 0.71)

In person interview w/ paper survey

Girls aged 4-6 years old, primarily white, also translated for use in French population [42]

Cullen (2000) Parent Food-Socialization Practices [43]

161

expectancies (7, α = 0.79), consequences (6, α = 0.70), discouraging practices (14, α = 0.84), child shopping influence (4, α = 0.67), parent FJV preparation practices (10, α = 0.73), child lunch/snack FJV preparation (4, α = 0.82), child dinner FJV preparation (3, α = 0.84)

In-person interview

Parents of 9-12 year old children, racially diverse, also examined differences across race/ethnicity [44] and evaluated in Czech population [45]

Neumark-Sztainer (2000) Project EAT [46–48]

221

parental support for healthy eating (4, α = 0.79), family meal patterns (3, α = 0.73), priority of family meals (5, α = 0.73-0.82), atmosphere of family meals (4, α = 0.73), structure/rules at family meals (5, α = 0.60), parental encouragement to diet (2)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 12-16 years old, racially diverse

Ross (2000) Family Unpredictability Scale [49]

22

meals (5, α = 0.75-0.88)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 2-18 year old children, primarily white, higher income

Baughcum (2001) Preschooler Feeding Questionnaire [50]

32

pushing the child to eat more (5, α = 0.70), using food to calm the child (4, α = 0.68), child’s control of feeding interactions (3, α = 0.50), structure during feeding interactions (3, α = 0.37), age-inappropriate feeding (2, α = 0.18)

Self-administered paper survey

Mothers of 23-60 month old children, 56% WIC participants, translated into Spanish [51]

Birch (2001) Child Feeding Questionnaire [52–54]

31

perceived responsibility (3, α = 0.88), restriction (8, α = 0.73), pressure to eat (4, α = 0.70), monitoring (3, α = 0.92)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 2-11 year old children, primarily white, but also tested in Black [55–57], Hispanic [52, 55], Japanese [58], Australian [59], and Hmong [60] samples

Cullen (2001) Family and Peer Influences on FJV Intake [61]

160

family FJV normative expectations (7, α = 0.88), parent control (11, α = 0.77), permissive eating (4, α = 0.76), food self-preparation (4, α = 0.76), parent FJV/LFF modeling (15, α = 0.89)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 9-12 years old, racially diverse

Tibbs (2001) Parental Dietary Modeling Scale [62, 63]

6

parent diet modeling (6, α = 0.59-0.74)

self- administered paper survey, and phone interview

Parents of 0-13 year old children, including an African American population [62]

Tiggemann (2002) Control Over Child Feeding [64]

7

monitoring (5, α = 0.69), family rules (2)

Self-administered survey

Parents of 5-8 year old children, Australian population

Wardle (2002) Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire [65]

27

control over eating (10, α = 0.81), prompting/ encouragement (8, α = 0.74), instrumental feeding (4, α = 0.67), emotional feeding (5, α = 0.83). Note: during pre-testing α’s ranged 0.65-0.85.

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 3-7 year old children, twins, but also tested in parents of 4-10 year old children from low and high SES [66], and Dutch population [67]

Bourcier (2003) Eating for a Healthy Life – Strategies to Influence Eating Behavior [68]

14

reliance on self (4, α = 0.66), pressuring (4, α = 0.52), positive (4, α = 0.63)

Phone interview

Parents of 0-17 year old children, primarily white

Cullen (2004) GEMS - Diet-Related Psychosocial Questionnaire [69]

116

low-fat food preparation practices (8, α = 0.66) and high-fat food preparation practices (7, α = 0.58)

Not specified

Parents of 7-10 year old girls, African American

Melgar-Quinonez (2004) Child Feeding Strategies [70, 71]

12

control (4, α = 0.61), accommodating (3, α = 0.44)

In-person interview

Parents of 36-72 month old children, Latino/Hispanic population, low income

Vereecken (2004) Food Parenting Practices [72, 73]

43

permissiveness/restriction rules (4, α = 0.71), pressure (5, α = 0.74), encouragement through material reward (3, α = 0.75), verbal praise (2, α = 0.94), encouragement through negotiation (5, α = 0.71), encouragement through rationale (fruit: 4, α = 0.81; veg: 4, α = 0.86), discouragement through rationale (sweets: 5, α = 0.80; soda: 5, α = 0.86), catering on children’s demand (4, α = 0.79), avoiding negative behavior (2, α = 0.82)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 2.5-7 year old children, Belgian population

De Bourdeaudhuij (2005) Pro Children Project [74]

104

parallel scales for fruit and veg: active parent encouragement (2, αF = 0.83 αV = 0.89), demand family rule (1), allow family rule (1)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 10-11 years old, from 5 European countries

Horodynski (2005) Child-Parent Mealtime Behavior Questionnaire [75]

44

caregiver’s tendency to get upset with child (4, α = 0.77-0.83), caregiver’s tendency to impose requirements on child’s eating (4, α = 0.68-0.70), caregiver’s emphasis on social interactions during meals (8, α = 0.67-0.73)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 11-25 month old children, low-income

Hughes (2005) Caregiver’s Feeding Style Questionnaire [6, 76, 77]

24

parent-centered strategies (12, α = 0.86), child-centered strategies (7, α = 0.71). Note: these two scales were used to score two dimensions of demandingness and responsiveness, which can then be used to categorize feeding style.

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 3-5 year old children, Black and Hispanic, low income, available in English and Spanish

Tripodi (2005) Family Dietary Habits (part of the Italian National Institute of Nutrition) [78]

Not specified

family dietary habits (11)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 5-6 year old children, Italian population

Vereecken (2005) Social and Environmental Influences on FJV Consumption [79]

127

parallel scales for fruit and veg for: perceived parental behavior (2/2, α = 0.71-0.86), socialization-encouragement (4/4, α = 0.92-0.94), permissive eating practices (4, α = 0.73), obligation rules (5, α = 0.78)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 11-12 years old

Arredondo (2006) Parenting Strategies for Eating and Activity Scale [80, 81]

26

limit setting (2 nutr, 4 PA), monitoring (5 nutr, 2 PA), discipline (3 nutr, 2 PA), control (5 nutr, 1 PA), and reinforcement (1 nutr, 1 PA). Final α’s not reported.

Self-administered

Parents of 5-7 year old children, primarily Latino, survey available in English or Spanish

Ogden (2006) Overt and Covert Control [82–84]

9

overt control (4, α = 0.71-0.78), covert control (5, α = 0.79-0.83)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 4-11 year old children, primarily white, middle class

de Moor (2007) Management Techniques of Feeding Problems [85]

13

positive behavioral support (3, α = 0.67), negative behavioral support (4, α = 0.66) and general management techniques (2, α = 0.58)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 18-36 month old children, Dutch population

Gray (2007) Parental Attitudes around Feeding [86]

46

parental control (9)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 5-8 year old children, 50% Black, and 40% lower income

Musher-Eizenman (2007) Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire [87]

49

monitoring (4, α = 0.78-0.87), emotion regulation (3, α = 0.74-0.78), food as reward (3, α = 0.66-0.69), child control (5, α = 0.49-0.70), modeling (4, α = 0.77-0.84), restriction for weight control (8, α = 0.70-0.82), restriction for health (4, α = 0.69-0.81), teaching about nutrition (3, α = 0.60-0.68), encourage balance and variety (4, α = 0.58-0.73), pressure to eat (4, α = 0.79), healthy environment (4, α = 0.75), involvement (3, α = 0.77)

Computer- assisted, self-administered

Parents of 1.5-8 year old children, primarily white and high income, also translated for use with a Norwegian population [88]

Reinaerts (2007) Social Influence on F&V Consumption [89]

63

mother/father modeling of F&V (4 individual items)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 4-12 year old children, Dutch population

Stanton (2007) Diet-Specific Social Support [90]

10

positive family support (5, α = 0.82)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 11-12 years old, rural population

Vue (2007) Individual and Environmental Influences on Calcium Intake [91]

36

independence (3, α = 0.67), parental expectations (2, α = 0.94), parental modeling (2, α = 0.81), family limitations (4, α = 0.61)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 10-13 years old, Hmong population

Bryant (2008) Healthy Home Survey [92]

113

food environment (8), eating practices (9), eating policies (11)

Phone interview

Parents of 3-8 year old children, primarily white and middle-upper income

Burgess-Champoux (2008) Determinants of Whole Grain Intake [93]

41

enabling behaviors (4, α = 0.82), role modeling (5, α = 0.63)

Not specified

Parents of 10-11 year old children, primarily white

Byrd-Bredbenner (2008) Food Decision Influencer [94]

67

food-related activities (10), food characteristics (10), family meals (12)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children 12 years or younger, primarily white

Faith (2008) Feeding Demands Questionnaire [95]

8

anger/frustration (4, α = 0.86), food amount demandingness (2, α = 0.86), and food type demandingness (2, α = 0.70)

Self-administered paper survey

Mothers of 3-7 year old children, twins, racially diverse

Fulkerson (2008) Family Meals [96]

24

family meal routines (7), family meal frequency (3), mealtime conflict (1), TV and eating (3), meal planning and preparation (3), frequency of making separate meals for children and adults (1)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 8-10 year old children, primarily white and college graduated

Gatshall (2008) Home Environment Survey [97]

126

parental role modeling of healthy eating (13, α = 0.83), parental policies to support healthy eating (11, α = 0.79)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 8-13 year old children, children were overweight or obese

Haerens (2008) Home Environment Related to Eating [98]

12

food rules (4), TV viewing (3)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 11-13 years old, Belgian population

Haire-Joshu (2008) High 5 for Kids [99]

15

coercive child feeding practices (4), modeling of F&V intake (1)

Phone interview

Parents of 1-6 year old children

Kroller (2008) Parental Feeding Strategies [100]

21

restriction (6, α = 0.75), monitoring (3, α = 0.93), pressure (3, α = 0.84), rewarding (4, α = 0.77), child control (3, α = 0.73), modeling (2, α = 0.77)

Self-administered paper survey

Mothers of 3-6 year old children, German population, lower income

Spurrier (2008) Physical and Nutritional Home Environment Inventory [101]

74

parental behaviors associated with food

In-person interview (with observation component)

Parents of 4-5 year old children, higher income

Hendy (2009) Parent Mealtime Action Scale [102]

31

snack limits (3, α = 0.81), positive persuasion (4, α = 0.75), daily F&V availability (3, α = 0.70), use of rewards (4, α = 0.65), insistence on eating (3, α = 0.68), snack modeling (3, α = 0.54), special meals (4, α = 0.45), fat reduction (3, α = 0.59), many foods choices (4, α = 0.42)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 3-10 year old children, most samples were primarily white

Joyce (2009) Parent Feeding Dimensions Questionnaire [103]

32

supportiveness (10, α = 0.81), structure (6, α = 0.72), coerciveness (10, α = 0.92), chaos (6, α = 0.80)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 4-8 year old children, primarily white

Neumark-Sztainer (2009) Ready Set ACTION [104]

62

parent weight talk (7, α = 0.82-0.85)

Child surveys administered by staff; self- administered paper survey for parents

Parents and children aged 9-12 years old, low income

Pearson (2009) Parental Modeling and Support [105]

7

parental modeling of eating behaviors (2), parental support for eating behaviors (2)

Self-administered surveys

Parents of 10-12 year old children, Australian population

Corsini (2010) Toddler Snack Food Feeding Questionnaire [106]

42

rules (10, α = 0.89, 0.85), flexibility (6, α = 0.87, 0.85), allow access (12, α = 0.88, 0.84)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 18 month-5 year old children, Australian population

Dave (2010) Home Nutrition Questionnaire [107]

25

parental practices that promote F&V intake 4, α = 0.77), parental role modeling (2, r = 0.75), amount of TV viewing (1)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of 6-12 year old children, primarily Hispanic and low SES

MacFarlane (2010) Adolescent Perceptions of Parent Feeding Practices [108]

25

encouragement/modeling healthful eating (5, α = 0.74), negotiation (4, α = 0.67), pressure to eat disliked food (3, α = 0.66), pressure to eat when not hungry (3, α = 0.69), monitoring (2, α = 0.87)

Self-administered paper survey

Children aged 12-15 years old, Australian population

McCurdy (2010) Family Food Behavior Survey [109]

20

maternal control (5, α = 0.83), maternal presence (5, α = 0.76), child control (5, α = 0.80), organization (5, α = 0.73)

In-person interview

Parents of 2-11 year old children

O’Connor (2010) Food Parenting Practices [110]

33

teachable moments (5), practical methods (9), firm discipline (4), restriction of junk foods (5), enhanced availability/accessibility (10), across all scales α = 0.41-0.58

In-person interview

Parents of 3-5 year old children, racially and economically diverse

Tremblay (2010) Quebec Longitudinal Study of Development – Meal Interactions [111]

6

mealtime conflict (6, α = 0.55)

In-person interview

Parents of 4 year old children, population from Quebec

Zeinstra (2010) Parental Child-Feeding Strategies [112]

79

vegetable: positive information (4, α = 0.84), distraction (4, α = 0.67), choice (5, α = 0.70), negative atmosphere (4, α = 0.80), pressure (3, α = 0.76), taste masking (4, α = 0.62), habit (2, α = 0.42), extra veg (3, α = 0.59); fruit: negative atmosphere and pressure (8, α = 0.85), positive information (4, α = 0.82), distraction (3, α = 0.54), choice (5, α = 0.60); includes additional items not in scales

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children 4-12 years old, Dutch population

Berlin (2011) Feeding Strategies [113]

32

mealtime structure (8, α = 0.75-0.82), consistent mealtime schedule (5, α = 0.84-0.87), child control of intake (8, α = 0.74-0.77), parent control of intake (6, α = 0.70-0.73), between meal grazing (3, α = 0.83-0.88), encourages clean plate (2, α = 0.83-0.89)

Self-administered computer survey

Parents of children 2-6 years old, primarily white

Byrd-Bredbenner (2011) Social Cognitive Theory Concepts [114]

39

self-regulation: sets goals - plans meals and shopping (3, α = 0.75), self-monitoring - uses food labels (3, α = 0.87), environmental structuring - TV during dinner (1)

Self-administered survey

Parents of children less than 12 years old, primarily white and moderate-high SES

McIntosh (2011) Family Meal Rituals [115]

12

dinner as a special family ritual (α = 0.77), a special family night (α = 0.87)

Telephone interview

Parents of children 9-15 years old, primarily white

Moreno (2011) Family Health Behavior [116]

27

parent behaviors (10, α = 0.85), mealtime routines (5, α = 0.77)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children 5-12 years old, racially and ethnically diverse

Murashima (2011) Parental Control Over Child Feeding [117, 118]

24

high control (3, α = 0.70), high contingency (4, α = 0.79), child centered feeding (5, α = 0.66), nutrient dense food encouraging practice (2, α = 0.59), energy dense food discouraging practice (4, α = 0.74), mealtime behavior (3, α = 0.62), timing of meal (3, α = 0.64)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children 3-5 years old, low income

Stifter (2011) Baby’s Basic Needs [119]

13

food to soothe (13)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children 3-34 months old, higher income

Anderson (2012) Meals in Our Household [120]

60

structure of family meals (10, α = 0.66-0.73), use of food as a reward (6, α = 0.76-0.81), influence of child’s food preferences (3, α = 0.39-0.65)

Self-administered survey

Parents of children 3-11 years old

Dave (2012) Parental Social Support [121]

32

instrumental support (17, α = 0.87), positive encouragement (5, α = 0.76), negative role model (3, α = 0.83), discouragement to eat F&V (3, α = 0.78), and reinforcement (2, α = 0.50)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of elementary-age children, primarily white

Moore (2012) West Virginia Healthy Lifestyle Act Evaluation [122]

82

parent actions regarding family diet (5)

Telephone interview

Parents of children 5-16 years old, primarily white

Rigal (2012) Feeding Style and Feeding Strategy [123]

38

authoritarian (7, α = 0.74), authoritative (7, α = 0.65), permissive (7, α = 0.70), coercion (6, α = 0.81), explanation (4, α = 0.72), contingency (4, α = 0.73), preference (3, α = 0.65)

Self-administered paper survey

Parents of children 20-36 months old, French population

  1. 1: Relevant scales must assess some aspect of food parenting practices. Only information on relevant scales was extracted. F&V = fruits and vegetables, FJV = fruits, juices, and vegetables, LFF = low-fat foods, veg = vegetables.