Development of Parent and Adolescent Questionnaires to Assess Food Parenting Practices That Address Adolescent Consumption During Independent Eating Occasions

Objective: To develop and test parent and early adolescent questionnaires to assess food parenting practices that influence early adolescent food consumption during independent eating occasions (iEOs). Methods: Cross-sectional online questionnaires were completed by 206 and 62 low-income parent/early adolescent (11–14 years) dyads at Time 1 and 2, respectively, recruited via a Qualtrics (Provo, UT) US national panel database. Principal component analyses, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability checks were performed. Results: Six parallel components were identified for parents and early adolescents with acceptable internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Scales included autonomy support, monitoring, availability, indulgence, expectations, and modeling. All except indulgence were positively correlated with importance of helping early adolescents make healthy choices during iEOs. Conclusions and Implications: Additional research is needed to test the questionnaires’ validity regarding relationships between parenting practices and early adolescent consumption during iEOs. Findings could inform development of interventions to improve consumption during these occasions.