Validity and Reliability Study of the Turkish Version of the Mindful Food Parenting Instrument

Abstract

It is estimated that parents' mindful eating is positively associated with children's nutritional status. However, studies investigating mindful food parenting within different cultural contexts remain limited. Understanding parents' mindful awareness during feeding is essential for promoting healthy eating behaviors in children and preventing obesity. There fore, this study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Mindful Food Parenting Instrument (MFPI), which is used to measure mothers' awareness of nutrition. The study included 176 mothers and their children aged 4-8 years. Content validity of the Turkish version was ensured through expert evaluations, construct validity was supported by confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent validity was evaluated by examining correlations with the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Family Nutrition and Physical Activity (FNPA) scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test whether the structure presented in the original scale could be achieved with the adapted scale. Cronbach's alpha values for all factors of the Turkish version of the MFPI and item-factor correlation values of all items were analyzed. Regarding the convergent validity of the MFPI, correlation analysis was conducted with other scales. Accordingly, the construct validity tested with CFA shows a good fit according to all reference values given. The Turkish structure of the MFPI scale, which was validated in this study, was preserved in accordance with the original and continued as a 3 factor scale. The first factor explains mindfulness of eating experiences, the y(b) factor explains awareness of hunger and satiety experiences, and the y(c) factor explains awareness of mother and child emotions and sensitivity to emotions. The MFPI's Cronbach's alpha reliability value was 0.69, and Cronbach's alpha values for the y(a), y(b), and y(c) factors were 0.66, 0.80, and 0.79, respectively. While y(b) and y(c) showed high reliability, y(a) showed acceptable reliability (>0.6). Item-factor correlation values above 0.2 are considered appropriate, and the values of all items were above 0.20. Correlation analyses indicated that the y(a) factor was significantly associated with both the FNPA (p<0.001) and MEQ (p<0.001) scales, whereas the y(c) factor showed a significant correlation with the FNPA scale (p<0.001). The MFPI is valid and reliable for Turkish mothers.