Reliability and validation of the children's eating attitudes test among 10- to 14-year-old school children in Turkey

OpenAlex İngilizce

Introduction: Eating disorders (ED) onset occurs commonly during adolescence and this is a very critical period oflife in the context of developmental perspectives because adequate nutrition is necessary for optimal growth and development. Nutritional disorders can be harmful and cause extreme and potentially permanent physical and psychologicalconsequences. Therefore, defining the eating disorder in itsearly stages is important.Objective: The goal of this study was to translate theChildren’s Eating Attitude Test (CHEAT) into Turkish and establish its validity and reliability among Turkish schoolchildren. Methods: The study was conducted on students from twoprivate and two public primary schools. After delivering invitations to suitable classes, informed consents that had beenwritten by participants and parents were collected. Results: The research comprised 352 children betweenthe ages of 10 and 14, including 222 females and 130 boys.Minimum factor loading is 0.597 and total percentage of explained variance is 58.04 The CFA supported these findings,since the 15-item scale had a greater goodness-of-fit and exploratory component analysis generated four factors. Conclusion: Analysis of data showed that the ChEAT scaleis a valid and reliable measurement tool available in Turkey. Itis thought that the ChEAT scale will contribute to studies oneating disorders in children aged between 10-14 years.