Identification and assessment of concerns about healthful dietary practices.
| Main Author: | |
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| Other Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1987.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Link to ProQuest copy Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | Changing dietary behavior in order to adhere to a healthful diet seems difficult for many people even when the need for and the value of change is apparent and is acknowledged. Dietary behavior change is recognized as being a complex process that is affected by many factors and current understanding of mediating variables that affect the process and its outcome is far from adequate. During the past two decades, a body of research has evolved that focuses on concerns that people have when they are involved in change processes. The Concerns Based Adoption Model has provided the conceptual framework for many of these studies; however, the utility of this model in dietary behavior studies has not previously been investigated. The purposes of this study were to determine whether concerns theory can be extended to the realm of dietary behavior and to develop an instrument to assess healthful dietary practice concerns of adults. Healthful dietary practices were defined as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and when applicable to specific individuals, other dietary guidelines recommended by health care providers. Through administration of a preliminary and a second, refined version of a concerns questionnaire, data were gathered from approximately 1100 adults. Respondents included both males and females who represented Anglo, Black, and Hispanic ethnic backgrounds, as well as varying levels of formal education and socioeconomic status. Data were analyzed using factor analyses, intercorrelation analyses, and analyses of variance. Results of these analyses support the existence of seven constructs similar to the Stages of Concern identified in previous concerns research. The data indicate that differences in overall intensity of concern may be related to whether respondents follow healthful dietary practices to manage a health problem or to maintain health and that differences in relative intensity among various stages of concern reported by respondents may be related to the reason for changing to healthful dietary practices. These results also suggest that a Stages of Healthful Dietary Practice Concern Questionnaire would provide a valid and reliable assessment of adults' healthful dietary practice concerns. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. |
| Physical Description: | xiii, 193 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-137). |