Psychometric testing of the healthy eating and physical activity self-efficacy questionnaire and the healthy eating and physical activity behavior recall questionnaire for children.
Jane H Lassetter, Christopher I Macintosh, Mary Williams and 3 others
PMID 29316195WHAT IT FOUND
Two short questionnaires for fourth to sixth graders asked children about confidence and recall for healthy eating and activity.
In 517 children, most finished quickly, and higher confidence scores matched healthier reported behaviors.
Key findings
01Most children completed both questionnaires quickly: 53.4% in 4 minutes or less and 95% in 12 minutes or less.
02Children with higher self-efficacy scores reported more healthy eating and activity behaviors.
03A panel of 10 experts rated every item in the self-efficacy questionnaire as content valid, and the total questionnaire score was 1.00.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study tested questionnaires, not a treatment, so it does not show that using them improves health. The study used only self-reported questionnaires, so it did not check those answers against other measures. Many children had high self-efficacy scores, and the authors say this may limit room to measure improvement. Item 6 about dairy had a low factor loading and low item-total correlation, but it was kept for theoretical completeness. The authors say cross-validation in more groups, predictive validity, and sensitivity to change need further study. Participants were fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in California and Utah schools, so results may not apply to other ages or settings.
Declared interests
The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude these questionnaires prove that improving children's confidence will improve eating or activity. The study measured confidence and self-reported behavior at one time, did not test an intervention, and the authors say sensitivity to change and predictive validity need further study.