A new measurement tool to assess the deliberate overfeeding of others: The Feeder questionnaire

This study aimed to conceptualize being “a Feeder” in terms of motivations and behaviour and to operationalize this construct with a new measurement tool through five stages with three discrete samples. Using the definitio n of a Feeder as “someone who offers others food even when they are not hungry” a preliminary qualitative study (n = 5) clarified the behaviour of a Feeder and revealed six motivations for such feeder behaviour. These six motivational dimensions and the feeder behaviours were operationalized wit h individual items and the psychometric properties of the scale were assessed using two independent samples (n = 116; n = 113). The final 27‐item measure consisted of six motivational factors (affection; waste avoidance; status; hunger avoidance; offloading; manners) and one behaviour factor, all with good internal consistency (α ≥ .7). The two samples were then merged (n = 229) to describe motivations and behaviour and to assess the association between them. The best predictors of feeder behaviour were love, offloading, manners and status. This new Feeder questionnaire has a strong factor structure and good internal consistency and could be used for further research or clinical practice.
Source: Clinical Obesity - Category: Eating Disorders & Weight Management Authors: Tags: Original Research Article Source Type: research