Young adolescents' engagement in dietary behaviour – the impact of gender, socio-economic status, self-efficacy and scientific literacy. Methodological aspects of constructing measures in nutrition literacy research using the Rasch model. Issue 14 (30th January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guttersrud, Øystein; Petterson, Kjell Sverre
• Is Part Of: Public health nutrition. Volume 18:Issue 14(2015)
• Page Start: 2565
• Page End: 2574
• Publication Date: 2015-01-30
• Subjects: Critical nutrition literacy, -- Dietary behaviours, -- Rasch modelling, -- Quantitative research; Nutrition -- Periodicals; Nutrition policy -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; 613.2
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980014003152
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1368-9800

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: The present study validates a revised scale measuring individuals' level of the 'engagement in dietary behaviour' aspect of 'critical nutrition literacy' and describes how background factors affect this aspect of Norwegian tenth-grade students' nutrition literacy. Design: Data were gathered electronically during a field trial of a standardised sample test in science. Test items and questionnaire constructs were distributed evenly across four electronic field-test booklets. Data management and analysis were performed using the RUMM2030 item analysis package and the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 statistical software package. Setting: Students responded on computers at school. Subjects: Seven hundred and forty tenth-grade students at twenty-seven randomly sampled public schools were enrolled in the field-test study. The engagement in dietary behaviour scale and the self-efficacy in science scale were distributed to 178 of these students. Results: The dietary behaviour scale and the self-efficacy in science scale came out as valid, reliable and well-targeted instruments usable for the construction of measurements. Conclusions: Girls and students with high self-efficacy reported higher engagement in dietary behaviour than other students. Socio-economic status and scientific literacy – measured as ability in science by applying an achievement test – did not correlate significantly different from zero with students' engagement in dietary behaviour.