Measurement of Self-Efficacy for Diet-Related Behaviors Among Elementary School Children

• Published in: The Journal of school health 1995-01, Vol.65 (1), p.23-27
• Main Authors: Parcel, Guy S., Edmundson, Elizabeth, Perry, Cheryl L., Feldman, Henry A., O'Hara-Tompkins, Nancy, Nader, Philip R., Johnson, Carolyn C., Stone, Elaine J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescents; Analysis; Behavior; Child; Child health behavior; Child psychology; Children & youth; Demography; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Dietetics; Eating Habits; Educational Status; Elementary Education; Elementary School Students; Elementary School Teachers; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Feeding Behavior - ethnology; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Food; Grade 3; Grade 4; Health Behavior; Health behavior in children; Health Promotion; Humans; Internal-External Control; Male; Mathematics Achievement; Measurement; Motivation; Nursing; Nutrition; Physical Education; Psychometrics; Questionnaires; Regression Analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Research Methodology; Self Efficacy; Self-efficacy (Psychology); Sex Factors; Social research; Sodium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Student Attitudes; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching Methods; Test Construction; United States
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1995.tb03335.x

Health promotion interventions intended to improve dietary behavior frequently incorporate self‐efficacy as a construct to enhance behavior change. This paper presents results from a study to establish psychometric properties of a scale to measure children's self‐efficacy for selecting healthful food. As part of a series of pilot studies to develop instrumentation for the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH), data were collected on third and fourth grade students (n = 1,127). Data analyses were conducted to estimate internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, factorial validity, and criterion related validity. Results revealed acceptable estimates of internal consistency for the dietary self‐efficacy scale (coefficient alpha = .84). Self‐efficacy was strong associated with the children's usual food choices, accounting for about 34% of variance (Multiple R = .58). Findings support using such an instrument for evaluating intervention programs addressing nutrition behavior and for studies to determine the association of self‐efficacy to dietary behavior or related constructs.