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Reliability and validity of a questionnaire to measure personal, social and environmental correlates of fruit and vegetable intake in 10–11-year-old children in five European countries
In this study by De Bourdeaudhuij et al. (2007), the authors examined the internal consistency of the scales and the fidelity of test-retest and behavior-predicting constructs based on theory in evaluating personal, social, and environmental contributing factors to fruit and vegetable consumption in children. 326 students (aged 10-11) across 5 European countries (Norway, Spain, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium) submitted questionnaires twice, with a one-week test-retest interval, revealing that the test-retest reliability of the questionnaire (measured using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC)) scored ‘good’ to ‘very good’ in 12/15 fruit and vegetable constructs, while the remainder constructs were found to be ‘acceptable.’ Of note, the data from Portugal displayed substantially lower ICCs when compared to other European countries, particularly in the knowledge, barriers related to fruit, and general self-efficacy related to fruit and vegetables constructs. In addition, the questionnaires showed moderate to high values of internal consistency (cronbach’s α values), moderate to good association with personal factors and environmental factors governing food intake (Spearman correlation), and moderate to good predictive validity for dietary behaviors. In conclusion, questionnaires present a consistent, valid and simple option to evaluate personal, social, and environmental factors that impact fruit and vegetable consumption in children aged 10-11 years. [NPID: Fruit, vegetables, children, reliability, questionnaire, socio-environmental influences, Europe]
Year: 2005
