%0 Journal Article
%T Knowledge, Attitudes, Self
%A Alex C. Garn
%A Bo Shen
%A Cheryl L. Somers
%A E. Whitney Moore
%A Erin E. Centeio
%A Jeffrey J. Martin
%A Nathan McCaughtry
%A Noel L. Kulik
%J Health Education & Behavior
%@ 1552-6127
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1090198119826298
%X Background/Aim. Increased knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about a topic and behavioral capability and self-efficacy for healthy eating are often a precursor to behavior change. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the multicomponent school-based program on children¡¯s healthy eating knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy for healthy eating, and on their eating habits over time. Method. Quasi-experimental (4 treatment, 2 comparison) in a metropolitan area using a pretest¨Cposttest method. Participants were 628 fifth-grade youth (377 treatment, 251 comparison) with a mean age of 9.9 years. The Building Healthy Communities (BHC) program is an 8-month school-wide healthy school transformation program and includes six main components. Outcome measures include children¡¯s healthy eating knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior. Missing data were imputed, confirmatory factor analysis tested scale factor structure, and path analysis determined a parsimonious path explaining behavior change. Results. The Student Attitudes and Self-Efficacy (SASE) scale had good measurement model fit. BHC group¡¯s healthy eating knowledge and behaviors increased significantly, while SASE remained moderate. For both groups, the students¡¯ knowledge and SASE significantly predicted their healthy eating behaviors; however, the intervention group accounted for a greater amount of variance (35% vs. 26%). Discussion. The BHC program was effective in improving healthy eating knowledge and behavior among youth, and the relationship between variables did not vary by group. Healthy eating knowledge is a significant predictor of both future knowledge and behavior
%K child health
%K diet
%K health behavior
%K maternal child health
%K nutrition
%K quantitative methods
%K school-based health promotion
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1090198119826298