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Title: MEASURING SELF-REPORTED BEHAVIOR, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SELF-EFFICANCY TO CHOOSE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN CHILDREN

Author
item DAVIS, KATHERINE - UNIV SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
item AZRIA-EVANS, MURIEL - UNIV SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
item CONNELL, CAROL - UNIV SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
item YADRICK, KATHLEEN - UNIV SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
item LOFTON, KRISTI - UNIV SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
item Bogle, Margaret

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2003
Publication Date: 4/24/2004
Citation: Davis, K.A., Azria-Evans, M., Connell, C.L., Yadrick, K.M., Lofton, K.L., Bogle, M.L. 2004. Measuring self-reported behavior, social support and self-efficancy to choose fruits and vegetables in children [abstract]. Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 18(5):A900.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: There is a need for validated instruments to assess nutrition-related behaviors in children. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-report instrument to measure constructs thought to be influential in children's decisions to eat fruits and vegetables. Questions were adapted from valid instruments retrieved from the nutrition literature, and included measures of behavior (8 items), social support (9 items) and self-efficacy (23 items). The sample included 40 African American children, 10 to 13. Cognitive interviewing techniques were used to assess understanding of individual items. Questions were read to the children who then marked their answers, placing an 'X' next to any item that appeared unclear. Retrospective probing methods including prepared and spontaneous probes were used to evaluate understanding of the marked items. Few children reported difficulty understanding the questions. The most frequent suggestion was the substitution of 'fix' or 'make' for the word 'prepare'. Inter-item correlations for behavior, self-efficacy and social support were 0.41, 0.80 and 0.84 respectively, however the survey produced a combined alpha coefficient of 0.95, indicating reliability as a whole. Further research is needed to develop a reliable set of items to measure behavior related to children's fruit and vegetable consumption. Supported by USDA, ARS Project #6251-53000-003-00D.