Survey development for assessing correlates of young adolescents' eating

Am J Health Behav. 2002 Jul-Aug;26(4):284-95. doi: 10.5993/ajhb.26.4.5.

Abstract

Objective: To describe the development and psychometric testing of a survey to assess multiple influences on young adolescents' eating behaviors.

Methods: A 204-item survey was piloted with middle-school students. We incorporated a broad view of determinants of eating behavior in an effort to expand the current field of predictors.

Results: The survey was reduced to 147 items and administered to 3,878 students. Internal consistencies were generally >0.70. Test-retest reliabilities were 0.30-0.98, mostly >0.60.

Conclusions: We estimated psychometric properties for a range of measures in a diverse sample. This is important as the increasing demand for outcomes-based research expands the need for psychometrically sound survey measures.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / ethnology
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
  • Eating / psychology*
  • Feeding Behavior / psychology*
  • Female
  • Health Behavior* / ethnology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Minnesota
  • Nutrition Surveys*
  • Psychometrics
  • Risk-Taking
  • School Health Services
  • Students / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires