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Development and Validation of an Inventory to Assess Mealtime Behavior Problems in Children with Autism

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Abstract

To date, no standardized measures have been developed to evaluate the mealtime behavior of children with autism. The Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory (BAMBI) was designed to measure mealtime behavior problems observed in children with autism. Caregivers of 40 typically developing children and 68 children with autism completed the BAMBI, the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS), the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS), the Youth/Adolescent Questionnaire (YAQ), and a 24-hour recall interview. The BAMBI demonstrated good internal consistency, high test–retest reliability, a clear factor structure, and strong construct and criterion-related validity in the measurement of mealtime behavior problems in children with autism.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded in part by the Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship student research award sponsored by the Graduate School at The Ohio State University. Additional funding was provided by the Routh Student Research Grant, sponsored by Division 54 of the American Psychological Association.

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  1. Colleen Taylor Lukens

    Present address: Department of Psychology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Colleen Taylor Lukens

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Columbus Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Thomas R. Linscheid

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  1. Colleen Taylor Lukens
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  2. Thomas R. Linscheid
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Correspondence to Colleen Taylor Lukens.

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Lukens, C.T., Linscheid, T.R. Development and Validation of an Inventory to Assess Mealtime Behavior Problems in Children with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 342–352 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0401-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0401-5

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