{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T15:15:26Z","timestamp":1773933326439,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773878400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"School of Health and Human Sciences at University of North Carolina at Greensboro"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Encouraging fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption early in childhood is important for long-term healthy eating. Though parents play an important role in shaping children\u2019s FV-related taste preferences and consumption, validated instruments assessing the range of parenting practices that specifically support young children\u2019s FV intake are scarce. Furthermore, little attention has been given to low-income families, cultural inclusivity, and FV practices across different settings. The current study sought to conduct an initial examination and explore the measurement equivalency of a new FV parenting practices questionnaire (FVPPQ) across racially\/ethnically diverse groups that address these gaps. Methods: Data for this paper came from a large project focused on parents\u2019 FV parenting practices with young children enrolled in Head Start programs in the southern part of the U.S. Inclusion criteria were (a) parent\/legal guardian being eighteen or older, (b) being the primary person responsible for child feeding, and (c) the child not requiring a special diet (e.g., diabetic). Using a multi-phases project approach, we (1) developed a preliminary conceptual map of parenting practice domains by reviewing existing measures on FV parenting practices; (2) completed and content-analyzed data from 18 focus groups (n = 62) to identify and further revise the preliminary conceptual map of domains, (3) administered a questionnaire with 11 domains of FV parenting practices, and then (4) empirically explored and reduced the measure while evaluating its content, construct, and criterion validity, and cultural equivalency across Non-Hispanic White, Hispanic White, and Black parents (n = 281). Results: Findings from Phases 1 and 2 generated a 107-item questionnaire that was reduced during phase 3 through a series of principal component and confirmatory factor analyses to the final FVPPQ with 21 items in four unique domains, showing good variability and inter-item consistency reliability: (1) Availability (5 items); (2) modeling (5 items); child-focused (5 items); and pressure (6 items). Three of the four domains evidenced cultural equivalency. Conclusions: The FVPPQ with four unique subscales demonstrated good content, construct validity, and partial measurement equivalency across racially\/ethnically diverse groups of parents. Further confirmatory validation is warranted in larger samples, but the FVPPQ might be a promising and easily administered measure for research and applied interventions in nutrition, health behavior, and parenting contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18060974","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T12:49:24Z","timestamp":1773924564000},"page":"974","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fruit and Vegetable Parenting Practices in Preschoolers: Initial Examination and Cultural Equivalency of a New Measure"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3125-333X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lenka H.","family":"Shriver","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3970-0883","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cheryl","family":"Buehler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Human Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1354","article-title":"Nutritional quality and health benefits of vegetables: A review","volume":"3","author":"Dias","year":"2012","journal-title":"Food Nutr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e143","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-789X.2010.00786.x","article-title":"Relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with adiposity: A systematic review","volume":"12","author":"Ledoux","year":"2011","journal-title":"Obes. 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