Psychosocial measures used to assess the effectiveness of school-based nutrition education programs: Review and analysis of self-report instruments for children 8 to 12 years old

Yenory Hernández-Garbanzo, Joanne Brosh, Elena L. Serrano, Katherine L. Cason, Ranju Bhattarai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To identify the psychometric properties of evaluation instruments that measure mediators of dietary behaviors in school-aged children. Design: Systematic search of scientific databases limited to 1999-2010. Main Outcome Measures: Psychometric properties related to development and testing of self-report instruments for children 8-12 years old. Analysis: Systematic search of 189 articles and review of 15 instruments (20 associated articles) meeting the inclusion criteria. Search terms used included children, school, nutrition, diet, nutrition education, and evaluation. Results: Fourteen studies used a theoretical framework to guide the instrument's development. Knowledge and self-efficacy were the most commonly used psychosocial measures. Twelve instruments focused on specific nutrition-related behaviors. Eight instruments included over 40 items and used age-appropriate response formats. Acceptable reliability properties were most commonly reported for attitude and self-efficacy measures. Although most of the instruments were reviewed by experts (n = 8) and/or pilot-tested (n = 9), only 7 were tested using both rigorous types of validity and with low-income youth. Conclusions and Implications: Results from this review suggest that additional research is needed to develop more robust psychosocial measures for dietary behaviors, for low-income youth audiences.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)392-403
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Volume45
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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