Validation and reliability-testing of a breakfast-eating survey instrument

Oake, Elizabeth Ann (1991) Validation and reliability-testing of a breakfast-eating survey instrument. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The short-term consequences of breakfast omission entail physiological, psychological and cognitive alterations in some children. Errors in school achievement tests and attention-maintenance tasks increase over the morning hours if breakfast is omitted. Physiological manifestations of fasting include lowered blood glucose levels and a decrease in work capacity. -- Behavioural decrements in the child who skips breakfast are similar to those of the hungry child: irritability, listlessness and social isolation are often present. The sociology of hunger suggests that breakfast-skipping and other negative environmental factors which impact on the child may ultimately result in school failure. -- Methods of obtaining accurate information of food intake in the young elementary school child have usually incorporated the parent (mother) as a surrogate respondent, despite evidence showing that children are accurate reporters of their own intake in terms of types of foods eaten, but not necessarily quantities of food consumed. -- This study examined the validity and reliability of a breakfast-eating questionnaire assessed on a convenience sample of elementary school children enrolled in grades 1, 2 and 3 in the Halifax-Dartmouth area. The questionnaire made use of symbols to avoid problems associated with limited reading ability present in this age group. The validated instrument will be used to obtain information about breakfast habits from children in grades 1, 2 and 3, residing in Nova Scotia. -- Key words: breakfast; children; questionnaire; reliability; validity; cognition; recall.

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