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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #296617
Title: Development of the responsiveness to child feeding cues scale

Author
item HODGES, ERIC - University Of North Carolina
item JOHNSON, SUSAN - University Of Colorado
item HUGHES, SHERYL - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item HOPKINSON, JUDY - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BUTTE, NANCY - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item FISHER, JENNIFER - Temple University

Submitted to: Appetite
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/8/2013
Publication Date: 2/16/2013
Citation: Hodges, E.A., Johnson, S.L., Hughes, S.O., Hopkinson, J.M., Butte, N.F., Fisher, J.O. 2013. Development of the responsiveness to child feeding cues scale. Appetite. 65:210-219.

Interpretive Summary: Obesity is a pressing threat to both US adults and children, where increasing numbers of the youngest segment of the population are being affected. Nationally representative data indicate that in 2009–2010, 9.7% of children aged 0–2 years were obese, with Hispanics having the highest prevalence at 14.8% and non-Hispanic whites having the lowest at 8.4%. Many obese infants will not "grow out of it". This study showed that mothers tended to be more responsive to child hunger than fullness cues. Feeding responsiveness dimensions were associated with demographics, including maternal education, maternal body mass index, child age, and aspects of child feeding, including breastfeeding duration, and self-feeding. The Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale is a reliable observational measure of responsive feeding for children 7–24 months of age that is relevant to obesity in early development. Given inclusion of a broad range of feeding cues, use of the Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale can provide greater insight into the development and diversity of feeding cues from birth through toddlerhood. The Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale could prove useful in identifying cues clinicians can use to guide parents and other caregivers in preventing obesity in young children. The ability to assess responsiveness as an interactive dynamic construct has implications for tailoring potential interventions to behavior occurring at different points during feeding (i.e., the response to child hunger, receptiveness to being fed, and fullness). Finally, should the Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale prove sensitive to change, it may serve as an indicator of the efficacy of interventions to enhance feeding responsiveness and alter the risk trajectory for obesity.

Technical Abstract: Parent–child feeding interactions during the first 2 years of life are thought to shape child appetite and obesity risk, but remain poorly studied. This research was designed to develop and assess the Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale, an observational measure of caregiver responsiveness to child feeding cues relevant to obesity. General responsiveness during feeding as well as maternal responsiveness to child hunger and fullness were rated during mid-morning feeding occasions by three trained coders using digital-recordings. Initial inter-rater reliability and criterion validity were evaluated in a sample of 144 ethnically diverse mothers of healthy 7- to 24-month-old children. Maternal self-report of demographics and measurements of maternal/child anthropometrics were obtained. Inter-rater agreement for most variables was excellent. Mothers tended to be more responsive to child hunger than fullness cues. Feeding responsiveness dimensions were associated with demographics, including maternal education, maternal body mass index, child age, and aspects of child feeding, including breastfeeding duration, and self-feeding. The Responsiveness to Child Feeding Cues Scale is a reliable observational measure of responsive feeding for children <2 years of age that is relevant to obesity.