Validation of an instrument of self-efficacy for the prevention of obesity in school children

Abstract

The objective of this study was to adapt and evaluate, from a psychometric perspective, an instrument aimed at measuring self-efficacy and weight control in elementary school children. Through cognitive laboratories, the items of the original instrument are adapted for children of school age, and subsequently validated by a panel of judges. This version of the instrument was applied to 1151 participants, girls and boys of between 8 and 13 years old (M = 10.2, SD = 0.98), and examined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EFA derived a four-factor structure, with 25 items (α = 0.90), while the CFA derived a three factor model, with 20 items (α = 0.88), which showed a good fit (X²/gl = 2.47, AGFI = 0.95, NFI = 0.93, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.03, 90% [IC 0.034-0.042]). A parsimonious instrument with acceptable internal validity and consistency was obtained, which allows to measure three basic components of self-efficacy relative to the prevention of overweight, which are: physical activity, feeding and control over emotional feeding, not addressed in previous instruments.