Validation of the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory in Parents of Children in Cyprus
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Instrument
2.2. Translation Procedure
2.3. Ethical Aspects
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Demographic Data and Group Effects
3.2. Receiver Operating Characteristics Analysis for the BAMBI
3.3. Reliability and Validity Measures for ΒΑΜΒΙ-Gr
3.4. Factor Analysis for the BAMBI
3.5. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the BAMBI
4. Discussion
4.1. Reliability and Consistency
4.2. Discriminatory Ability
4.3. Sensitivity and Specificity
4.4. Cultural Adaptation
4.5. Clinical Implications
4.6. Limitations and Directions for Future Study
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
APC | Article Processing Charge |
ASD | Autism Spectrum Disorder |
BAMBI | Brief Autism Behavior Inventory |
CFI | Comparative Fit Index |
CVI | Content Validity Index |
FSD | Feeding Swallowing Disorder |
M | Mean |
PCA | Principal Component Analysis |
RMSEA | Root Mean Square Error of Approximation |
ROC | Receiver Operating Curve |
SD | Standard Deviation |
TD | Typical Developing |
TLI | Tucker–Lewis Index |
WHO | World Health Organization |
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Parents Group of ASD Children (N = 42) | Parents Group of TD Children (N = 75) | ||
---|---|---|---|
M (SD) | M (SD) | p | |
Parents, Years of Age | 40.59 (10.79) | 39.78 (1074) | 0.117 † |
Age of father | 41.75 (6.46) | 39.63 (5.60) | 0.069 † |
Age of Mother | 38.78 (4.90) | 37.64 (6.64) | 0.273 † |
Children’s Years of Age | 8.08 (3.60) | 7.03 (3.54) | 0.130 † |
Parent Group of ASD Children (N = 42) | Parent Group of TD Children (N = 127) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Μ (SD) | Μ (SD) | t (115) | p | |
Limited Refusal Factor | 51.92 (4.28) | 20.16 (4.00) | 4.672 | <0.001 |
Food Refusal Factor | 24.21 (5.28) | 5.72 (1.33) | 12.402 | <0.0001 |
Features of Autism Factor | 12.64 (4.51) | 11.28 (2.63) | 6.258 | <0.001 |
BAMBI Total Score | 51.33 (8.99) | 37.16 (5.23) | 10.787 | <0.001 |
Parent Group of TD Children (N = 75) | Parent Group of ASD Level 1 Children (N = 11) | Parent Group of ASD Level 2 Children (N = 15) | Parent Group of ASD Level 3 Children (N = 16) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Μ (SD) | Μ (SD) | Μ (SD) | Μ (SD) | F(3, 113) | p | |
Limited Refusal | 20.16 (4.00) | 25.36 (2.87) | 23.73 (7.11) | 23.87 (4.71) | 7.535 | <0.001 |
Food Refusal | 5.72 (1.33) | 12.81 (3.89) | 10.53 (5.22) | 14.50 (3.38) | 63.155 | <0.001 |
Features of Autism | 11.28 (2.63) | 13.72 (1.74) | 14.60 (3.29) | 14.88 (2.60) | 13.393 | <0.001 |
BAMBI Total Score | 37.16 (5.23) | 51.91 (6.22) | 48.86 (11.66) | 53.25 (7.62) | 40.354 | <0.001 |
Variables | MCH-FS Total | BAMBI Total | Limited Refusal | Food Refusal | Features of Autism |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MCH-FS Total | 1.000 | 0.780 *** | 0.647 *** | 0.647 *** | 0.586 *** |
BAMBI Total | 0.780 *** | 1.000 | — | — | — |
Limited Refusal | 0.647 *** | — | 1.000 | 0.327 | 0.252 |
Food Refusal | 0.647 *** | — | 0.327 | 1.000 | 0.273 |
Features of Autism | 0.586 *** | — | 0.252 | 0.273 | 1.000 |
Factor Items | Mean | Rotated Factor Loading | h2 |
---|---|---|---|
Factor 1—Limited Refusal | |||
1. My child cries or screams during mealtimes. | 1.49 | 0.78 | 0.74 |
2. My child turns his/her face or body away from food. | 1.88 | 0.66 | 0.83 |
4. My child expels (spits out) food that he/she has eaten. | 1.66 | 0.82 | 0.83 |
7. My child is disruptive during mealtimes (pushing/throwing utensils, food). | 1.77 | 0.73 | 0.83 |
8. My child closes his/her mouth tightly when food is presented. | 1.40 | 0.61 | 0.82 |
10. My child is willing to try new foods. | 3.45 | 0.54 | 0.70 |
15. My child accepts or prefers a variety of foods. | 4.10 | 0.48 | 0.65 |
Factor 2—Food Refusal | |||
11. My child dislikes certain foods and won’t eat them | 2.93 | 0.62 | 0.43 |
12. My child refuses to eat foods that require a lot of chewing (e.g., eats only soft or pureed foods). | 2.34 | 0.54 | 0.27 |
13. My child prefers the same foods at each meal. | 2.83 | 0.63 | 0.5 |
14. My child prefers “crunchy” foods (e.g., snacks, crackers). | 2.60 | 0.49 | 0.64 |
16. My child prefers to have food served in a particular way. | 2.16 | 0.54 | 0.52 |
17. My child prefers only sweet foods (e.g., candy, sugary cereals). | 1.66 | 0.46 | 0.73 |
18. My child prefers food prepared in a particular way (e.g., eats mostly fried foods, cold cereals, and raw vegetables). | 1.85 | 0.47 | 0.61 |
Factor 3—Features of Autism | |||
3. My child remains seated at the table until the meal is finished. | 4.14 | 0.41 | 0.50 |
5. My child is aggressive during mealtimes (hitting, kicking, scratching others). | 1.36 | 0.49 | 0.66 |
6. My child displays self-injurious behavior during mealtimes (hitting self, biting self). | 1.19 | 0.72 | 0.54 |
9. My child is flexible about mealtime routines (e.g., times for meals, seating arrangements, place settings). | 3.39 | 0.62 | 0.73 |
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Papaleontiou, A.; Siafaka, V.; Voniati, L.; Gryparis, A.; Georgiou, R.; Tafiadis, D. Validation of the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory in Parents of Children in Cyprus. Children 2025, 12, 1067. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12081067
Papaleontiou A, Siafaka V, Voniati L, Gryparis A, Georgiou R, Tafiadis D. Validation of the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory in Parents of Children in Cyprus. Children. 2025; 12(8):1067. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12081067
Chicago/Turabian StylePapaleontiou, Andri, Vassiliki Siafaka, Louiza Voniati, Alexandros Gryparis, Rafaella Georgiou, and Dionysios Tafiadis. 2025. "Validation of the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory in Parents of Children in Cyprus" Children 12, no. 8: 1067. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12081067
APA StylePapaleontiou, A., Siafaka, V., Voniati, L., Gryparis, A., Georgiou, R., & Tafiadis, D. (2025). Validation of the Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory in Parents of Children in Cyprus. Children, 12(8), 1067. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12081067