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. 2024 Aug 16;16(8):e66980.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.66980. eCollection 2024 Aug.

Validity and Reliability of a Questionnaire Assessing Changes in Dietary Behaviors Among School Children Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jordan

Sami F Alarsan  1 , Nur Zakiah Mohd Saat  2 , Ruzita Abd Talib  3 , Nesreen Saadeh  4 , Ghada Shahrour  5
Affiliations

Validity and Reliability of a Questionnaire Assessing Changes in Dietary Behaviors Among School Children Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jordan

Sami F Alarsan et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess changes in dietary behaviors among school children in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of 253 school-aged children from public schools across Jordan. The dietary and lifestyle behavior inventory (DLBI) was developed, incorporating cultural and regional dietary preferences. The questionnaire's validity and reliability were assessed using the content validity index (CVI) and Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to evaluate the underlying factor structure.

Results: The DLBI demonstrated excellent content validity with a scale content validity index (S-CVI) of 0.997 and a high level of agreement among expert reviewers (total agreement = 116). Reliability analysis showed high internal consistency for dietary behavior scales, with Cronbach's alpha values exceeding 0.9 for fruit (0.869) and vegetable (0.916) consumption scales. Factor analysis revealed strong associations between dietary behavior variables, with factor loadings ranging from 0.688 to 0.889. The study identified significant reductions in physical activity levels among children, with an average Cronbach's alpha of 0.835 for physical activity-related items. The average time to complete the questionnaire was 15 minutes (SD = 5 minutes), with a completion rate of 45.6%.

Conclusions: The validated DLBI is a robust tool for assessing changes in dietary behaviors among school-aged children in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings highlight significant dietary patterns and physical activity shifts, emphasizing the need for targeted nutritional interventions.

Keywords: covid-19 pandemic; dietary behaviours; jordan; nutritional epidemiology; physical activity; questionnaire validation; school children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Ethics Committee of the National University of Malaysia issued approval JEP-2022-590. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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