Department of Applied Psychology, University of Minho, 4710-052 Braga, Portugal.
Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo, 33003 Oviedo, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 4;20(4):2807. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20042807.
Self-efficacy has a strong influence on children's eating behavior. Feeling capable of regulating one's eating behavior is especially relevant in situations of activation while facing temptations or experiencing negative emotions. Despite the relevance, there is no validated measure to assess children's self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in these domains. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Eating Behaviors Scale for Children based on a sample of 724 elementary school children in Portugal. The sample was split randomly into two groups, and a principal component analysis with Group 1 and a confirmatory factor analysis with Group 2 were carried out. The scale comprises two distinct but related factors-self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in activation and temptation situations and self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors in negative emotional situations. Moreover, self-efficacy to regulate eating behaviors was positively and statistically related to self-regulation processes toward healthy eating, declarative knowledge about healthy eating, and attitudes and perceptions toward healthy eating. The present study provides preliminary evidence that the Self-Efficacy to Regulate Eating Behaviors Scale for Children is valid and reliable for evaluating children's self-efficacy in regulating their eating behaviors.
自我效能感对儿童的饮食行为有很强的影响。在面对诱惑或体验负面情绪时，感到有能力调节自己的饮食行为尤为重要。尽管这一点很重要，但目前还没有经过验证的衡量儿童在这些领域调节饮食行为的自我效能感的方法。本研究基于葡萄牙 724 名小学生的样本，检验了儿童饮食行为自我效能感量表的心理测量特性。该样本被随机分为两组，对第 1 组进行主成分分析，对第 2 组进行验证性因素分析。该量表由两个不同但相关的因素组成——在激活和诱惑情境下调节饮食行为的自我效能感，以及在负面情绪情境下调节饮食行为的自我效能感。此外，调节饮食行为的自我效能感与健康饮食的自我调节过程、关于健康饮食的陈述性知识，以及对健康饮食的态度和看法呈正相关。本研究初步证明，儿童饮食行为自我效能感量表在评估儿童调节饮食行为的自我效能感方面是有效和可靠的。
