Matthew D Stone1, Brittany E Matheson2, Adam M Leventhal3, Kerri N Boutelle4. 1. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, USA. Electronic address: m3stone@ucsd.edu. 2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. 3. Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA. 4. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a shortened form of the Children's Power of Food Scale (C-PFS), which measures anticipated reward from consuming highly palatable foods (i.e., hedonic hunger). Presently, two gaps exist with the C-PFS: the need for a shorter tighter measure, and evidence to support similar item function across populations. METHOD: Ninth grade students (N = 3277; 14.1 ± 0.4 years; 53.5% Female; 47% Hispanic) from 10 Los Angeles high schools completed the C-PFS and other surveys in class. Factor analysis, graded response modeling, and differential item functioning explored the structure of the 15 C-PFS items and identified a reduced set that parsimoniously taps hedonic hunger across the latent continuum and exhibits item-level invariance across sex, race/ethnicity, and weight status. Construct validity was examined via associations of self-reported dietary intake, impulsivity, and body mass index (BMI) to C-PFS scores. RESULTS: Factor analytic models supported a single, primary dimension of hedonic hunger that accounted for 61% of the variance across all 15-items (α = 0.94). Adequate severity, discriminatory ability, and non-overlapping item-difficulty were observed for 11-items, of which 9-items were found to have item-level invariance across demographic and weight status groupings. Poor performing items were removed to create a 9-item scale (C-PFS-9; α = 0.93). Construct validity was demonstrated as higher C-PFS-9 scores were significantly related to greater sweet (β = 0.32, [95%CI = 0.23, 0.41], p < .001) and fatty food intake (β = 0.34, [95%CI = 0.26, 0.43], p < .001) and impulsivity resulting from positive (β = 0.11, [95%CI = 0.02, 0.21], p < .05) and negative mood (β = 0.36, [95%CI = 0.28, 0.45], p < .001). Females, relative to males, reported higher C-PFS-9 scores (β = 0.10, [95%CI = 0.02, 0.17], p < .05) and associations with BMI were mixed. CONCLUSION: The C-PFS-9 possesses excellent psychometric properties and retains the original construct coverage of hedonic hunger without a marked decrease in information obtained.
OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a shortened form of the Children's Power of Food Scale (C-PFS), which measures anticipated reward from consuming highly palatable foods (i.e., hedonic hunger). Presently, two gaps exist with the C-PFS: the need for a shorter tighter measure, and evidence to support similar item function across populations. METHOD: Ninth grade students (N = 3277; 14.1 ± 0.4 years; 53.5% Female; 47% Hispanic) from 10 Los Angeles high schools completed the C-PFS and other surveys in class. Factor analysis, graded response modeling, and differential item functioning explored the structure of the 15 C-PFS items and identified a reduced set that parsimoniously taps hedonic hunger across the latent continuum and exhibits item-level invariance across sex, race/ethnicity, and weight status. Construct validity was examined via associations of self-reported dietary intake, impulsivity, and body mass index (BMI) to C-PFS scores. RESULTS: Factor analytic models supported a single, primary dimension of hedonic hunger that accounted for 61% of the variance across all 15-items (α = 0.94). Adequate severity, discriminatory ability, and non-overlapping item-difficulty were observed for 11-items, of which 9-items were found to have item-level invariance across demographic and weight status groupings. Poor performing items were removed to create a 9-item scale (C-PFS-9; α = 0.93). Construct validity was demonstrated as higher C-PFS-9 scores were significantly related to greater sweet (β = 0.32, [95%CI = 0.23, 0.41], p < .001) and fatty food intake (β = 0.34, [95%CI = 0.26, 0.43], p < .001) and impulsivity resulting from positive (β = 0.11, [95%CI = 0.02, 0.21], p < .05) and negative mood (β = 0.36, [95%CI = 0.28, 0.45], p < .001). Females, relative to males, reported higher C-PFS-9 scores (β = 0.10, [95%CI = 0.02, 0.17], p < .05) and associations with BMI were mixed. CONCLUSION: The C-PFS-9 possesses excellent psychometric properties and retains the original construct coverage of hedonic hunger without a marked decrease in information obtained.
Authors: Claudia K Fox; Elise F Northrop; Kyle D Rudser; Justin R Ryder; Aaron S Kelly; Megan O Bensignor; Eric M Bomberg; Carolyn T Bramante; Amy C Gross Journal: Child Obes Date: 2021-06 Impact factor: 2.867