Turkish Version of the Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale: Validity and Reliability Study in Children With Cerebral Palsy

• Published in: International journal of language & communication disorders Vol. 60; no. 4; p. e70074
• Main Authors: Özün, Özgü İnal, Karahan, Sevilay, Cemali, Mustafa, Serel Arslan, Selen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.07.2025
• Subjects: Cerebral Palsy - complications; Cerebral Palsy - psychology; Child; Child, Preschool; Feeding and Eating Disorders - diagnosis; Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood - diagnosis; Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood - etiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders of Childhood - psychology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires; Translations; Turkey; Turkey; cerebral palsy; feeding disorders; parent; feeding behaviour; children
• ISSN: 1460-6984
• DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.70074

This study was conducted to translate The Montreal Children's Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH-FS) into Turkish and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Turkish version (T-MCH-FS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The study involved 160 children (70 children with CP and 90 typically developing children) aged 18 to 72 months. Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS), Paediatric version of the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (PEDI-EAT-10) and Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) were used to examine the construct validity of the T-MCH-FS. Internal consistency was sufficient with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.820. There were correlations between the T-MCH-FS and the KCPS (r = 0.377, p < 0.001), the PEDI-EAT-10 (r = 0.655, p < 0.001) and the BPFAS scores for total frequency, child frequency, parent frequency, restriction and poor strategies (p < 0.001). The T-MCH-FS was found to be a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate feeding problems in children with CP and typically developing children. What is already known on the subject Feeding problems are very common in children with CP and cause stress for the individual and their caregivers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The MCH-FS is a practical and quick tool which provides a comprehensive overview regarding feeding problems. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The T-MCH-FS has been shown to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing feeding problems in children with CP.