The self-efficacy construct has been determined to be an effective method of
stimulating desired eating behavior in diabetics and obese adults and exercise behaviors in
pulmonary rehabilitation patients. Although the self-efficacy construct has been shown to
mediate eating habits, practical classroom application of the construct has been rarely used
in this area. A review of literature indicated that no studies have been reported on the
effect of self-efficacy on food-related behaviors of children.
The primary purpose of this research was to determine if, and to what extent, self-efficacy
predicts changes in food choices of fifth-grade children. The effect of self-perceptions
of competence on the nutrition knowledge of children after a nutrition
education intervention program was also assessed. Forty-five fifth-grade children in two
classrooms participated in this study. Their self-perception profile, food choices, nutrition
knowledge, and food acceptance were measured both before and after the nutrition
education unit. A 25 item nutrition knowledge questionnaire was also administered to the
children before and after the nutrition education program. Change in knowledge in the
cognitive domain was measured by differences in scores on the nutrition knowledge
pretest and posttest. Students kept five-day food records for the school lunch items
consumed. The fruit and vegetable intakes of the students were estimated from these food
records. Chi-square analyses were performed on the data to determine the relationship between self-efficacy as the independent variable and change in food choices, and food
acceptance and change in nutrition knowledge as the dependent variables. The 3 x 3
contingency tables indicated that there were no significant relationships between selfefficacy
and change in food choices, food acceptance and nutrition knowledge. The
findings provide limited support for the usefulness of the self-efficacy construct in
understanding and predicting eating behavior change. It is recommended that further
investigations of the predictive capability of the self-efficacy expectancy be conducted in
children of this age group to better understand its relationship with food choices and
implications for nutrition education for school children. / Graduation date: 1994
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/27237 |
| Date | 16 March 1994 |
| Creators | Manaloor, Sisy |
| Contributors | Woodburn, Margy |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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