Reliability of the ecSatter Inventory as a Tool to Measure Eating Competence
Abstract
Objective
To examine the reliability of the ecSatter Inventory (ecSI), a measure of eating competence.
Design
Self-report questionnaires were administered in person or by mail. Retesting occurred 2 to 6 weeks after completion of the first questionnaire.
Participants
Both administrations of the questionnaire were completed by 259 participants who were mostly food secure, white females with some college education; mean age was 26.9 ± 10.4 years.
Measures
Test-retest reliability and internal consistency.
Analysis
Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients to estimate test-retest reliability and Cronbach alpha coefficients to estimate internal consistency.
Results
Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient for ecSI total score was 0.68; subscale coefficients were 0.70 for eating attitudes, 0.70 for contextual skills, 0.65 for food acceptance, and 0.52 for internal regulation. Cronbach alpha coefficient for ecSI total score was 0.77. Subscale alphas coefficients were 0.80 for eating attitudes, 0.69 for contextual skills, 0.68 for food acceptance, and 0.66 for internal regulation.
Conclusions and Implications
This study provides psychometric evidence about the reliability of ecSI as a measure of eating competence in this sample. Although some ecSI items may require revision, results suggest that the instrument may be used to evaluate nutrition education designed to improve eating competence.
Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Address for correspondence: Jodi Stotts, MS, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 135 East Nittany Avenue, Suite 405, State College, PA 16801; Phone: (814) 865-7629; Fax: (814) 865-9046
This study was funded by USDA/Food and Nutrition Service through PENNSYLVANIA NUTRITION EDUCATION TRACKS as part of Food Stamp Nutrition Education.
An author of this article (Lohse), is also the Guest Editor for this issue, and is on the JNEB staff as Associate Editor, Research, Reports and GEMs. Review of this article was handled, exclusively, by the Editor-in-Chief to minimize conflict of interest.
ABSTRACT