Abstract
Mi Niño a la Hora de Comer (Mi Niño) is a visually enhanced, Spanish-language, parent self-assessment tool designed to measure food parenting behaviors of low-income, Spanish-speaking caregivers of preschool-aged children.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the construct and convergent validity of Mi Niño.
Videotaped mealtime behaviors at home were used to test for Mi Niño construct validity. Concurrent caregiver reports of general parenting styles and children’s body mass index were used to test for convergent validity with Mi Niño scores.
Data were drawn from the Niños Sanos study collected between 2016-2017. Participants (N = 273) were recruited through Head Start and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children centers in the Sacramento, CA, metropolitan area and were eligible if they were at least 18 years old, the primary caregiver of a child between ages 3 and 5 years, declared Spanish as their preferred language, and were enrolled in Head Start or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Participants who completed Mi Niño, general parenting style surveys, and child anthropometric measurements (n = 199) were included in the current analysis. A subset of participants self-selected to complete a videotaped mealtime in their homes (n = 60). Video corruption occurred with 1 video, resulting in N = 59 final videotape sample.
Parent-centered and child-centered parent mealtime behaviors obtained via observed mealtimes, child body mass index z scores, and self-reports of general parenting styles were used to assess the validity of Mi Niño scores.
Two-way analysis of variance was used to assess differences in Mi Niño scores by observed mealtime behaviors, and linear regression was used to test associations between Mi Niño scores and child body mass index z scores and general parenting styles.
Parent-centered Mi Niño scores were positively associated with the rate of observed parent-centered behaviors (F = 2.49; P < .05) and negatively with child body mass index z scores (r = –0.19; P < .01). Parent-centered Mi Niño scores were positively associated with parent self-assessments of authoritarian general parenting styles (r = 0.35; P < .01), and child-centered Mi Niño scores were positively associated with parent self-assessments of authoritative general parenting styles (r = 0.44; P < .01).
Results provide partial support for construct and convergent validity of the Mi Niño self-assessment tool to assess food parenting behaviors with Spanish-speaking caregivers of young children who have low incomes.