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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #173525
Title: THE YOUTH/ADOLESCENT QUESTIONNAIRE HAS LOW VALIDITY AND MODEST RELIABILITY AMONG LOW-INCOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND HISPANIC SEVENTH- AND EIGHTH-GRADE YOUTH.

Author
item Cullen, Karen
item Zakeri, Issa

Submitted to: Journal Of The American Dietetic Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2004
Publication Date: 9/1/2004
Citation: Cullen, K., Zakeri, I. 2004. The youth/adolescent questionnaire has low validity and modest reliability among low-income African-American and Hispanic seventh- and eighth-grade youth. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 104(9):1415-1419.

Interpretive Summary: This study evaluated whether a questionnaire asking about usual consumption of foods over the past year was a true measure of low income African-American and Hispanic 7th and 8th students' food and beverage intake. The youth completed the questionnaire on two occasions three weeks apart, and recorded their foods for up to six days in between. The questionnaire did not have good validity. The ability of seventh and eighth grade low income African- and Hispanic youth to report usual intake over a period of time appears to be limited and may not provide a true measure of consumption.

Technical Abstract: The Youth/Adolescent Questionnaire (YAQ) is a food frequency questionnaire developed for youth 9-19 years old that attempts to assess diet over the past 12 months. It was developed and previously validated with Caucasian youth, however a validation study with 4th to 7th grade African-American youth revealed lower validation coefficients. This study validated the YAQ with 89 low income 7th and 8th grade Hispanic and African-American youth. The youth completed the YAQ on two occasions three weeks apart, and completed up to six food records in between. Most of the reliability coefficients were adequate, except for percent of energy from fat and high fat vegetables for Hispanic students. Validity coefficients were low, even after correcting for error. The ability of seventh and eighth grade low income African- and Hispanic youth to report usual intake over a period of time appears to be limited and may not provide a valid measure of consumption.