What Implications Does a Baseline of Self-efficacy of Food Safety in Adolescent Populations Have for Future Food Safety Education Interventions?

Properly targeted food safety interventions can change attitudes and behaviors, thus promoting the development of strong self-efficacy of food safety (SEFS). The purposes of this study were to: establish a baseline of self-efficacy of food safety in adolescent populations and to investigate the diff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food protection trends 2014-01, Vol.34 (1), p.20-20
Main Authors: Richards, Jennifer K, Beavers, Amy S
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Cohen's d
Education
Food safety
Gender
Meals
Restaurants
Safety training
Schools
Self-efficacy
SMSA
Students
Studies
Teenagers
Variance analysis
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Summary:Properly targeted food safety interventions can change attitudes and behaviors, thus promoting the development of strong self-efficacy of food safety (SEFS). The purposes of this study were to: establish a baseline of self-efficacy of food safety in adolescent populations and to investigate the differences in SEFS by gender, Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA), and food handling experience. Results indicate that adolescents feel confident in their ability to positively impact the safety of their food, with strong self-efficacy in the area of personal hygiene. Cross-contamination and cooking/cooling temperatures were areas of lowest self-efficacy. There is no evidence to suggest that SEFS is influenced by the number of meals prepared in the home. While there were statistical differences in SEFS by SMSA and gender, low effect sizes indicate that the differences are not practically significant. Developers of future food safety education interventions should focus on providing experiential learning opportunities based on topic areas, not targeting specific demographic groups.
ISSN:1541-9576