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Psychology students’ intention to use nutrition interventions in future practice
The role of nutrition interventions (NIs) in mental healthcare is increasingly recognized, yet psychology students’ training does not reflect this shift. This raises the question: how do students’ attitudes shape their future clinical practice regarding NIs, especially given the lack of formal guidelines in psychology programs?
To address this, researchers employed Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, utilizing an online cross-sectional survey targeting 116 Australian tertiary psychology students. The aim was to assess how factors such as attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence students’ intentions to use NIs in their future practices. Additionally, the study investigated whether engagement with formal or informal nutrition education had any moderating or mediating effects on these relationships.
The findings revealed that students’ attitudes were the only significant predictor of their intention to apply NIs, explaining 24% of the variance in that intention. Notably, neither formal nutrition education within psychology programs nor informal nutrition information-seeking was shown to affect this relationship. Interestingly, students with more positive attitudes were more likely to seek nutrition information from external sources.
This evidence underscores the importance of students’ attitudes toward NIs in shaping their intentions and information-seeking behaviors, regardless of the nutrition education they have received. The students’ expressed preference for evidence-based learning suggests a strong case for integrating nutrition content into the Australian psychology curriculum. Furthermore, there is a pressing need for professional bodies to formulate guidelines to ensure the safe incorporation of nutrition interventions into clinical practice. [NPID: Nutrition interventions, students, psychology]
Year: 2026
