Liang Linglin, Yu Yue
School of Art and Design, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
Front Psychol. 2025 Mar 18;16:1342127. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1342127. eCollection 2025.
Sugary snacks are prevalent in children's daily lives and may impact their diet positively or negatively, yet few studies explore children's perceptions and attitudes of these foods from their daily experiences in China.
This study aims to (i) assess children's perceptions and attitudes of sugary snacks and (ii) compare two child-centered elicitation techniques-Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) and Generative Method (GM)-based on Personal Construct Theory (PCT).
A qualitative study was conducted with 31 children (6-10 years old) in Hangzhou and Fuzhou, China. Children participated in RGT (dichotomous comparisons using product cards) and GM (creative expression through drawing/clay) in one-on-one sections. The output of the task was analyzed for thematic analysis and descriptive statistics.
Themes identified included sensory, packaging, interaction, emotion, cognition, and socio-culture. Children expressed concern about food composition and showed limited understanding of sugar's functions and cultural significance. The RGT elicited more product attributes (358 vs. 190 in GM), with a significant difference ( < 0.001). RGT generated a balanced mix of concrete and abstract attributes, while GM elicited more abstract attributes.
The findings highlight that children can be educated about the formulation and cultural aspects of sugary snacks. Encouraging richer "in-mouth" and "in-body" interactive education could be beneficial. Adopting a child-centered approach fosters engaging conversations. RGT efficiently inspires children to generate both concrete and abstract product attributes and is easy to understand but less enjoyable. On the other hand, GM tends to generate more abstract and novel ideas that strongly reflect children's preferences. However, it requires more time and cognitive effort to understand, though it maintains a higher level of enjoyment and engagement. Understanding these findings aids in developing nutrition education that captivates and engages children. Insights into elicitation techniques can guide researchers seeking to understand children's perspectives effectively.
含糖零食在儿童日常生活中很常见，可能对他们的饮食产生积极或消极影响，但在中国，很少有研究从儿童的日常经历来探讨他们对这些食物的认知和态度。
本研究旨在（i）评估儿童对含糖零食的认知和态度，以及（ii）基于个人建构理论（PCT）比较两种以儿童为中心的启发式技术—— repertory网格技术（RGT）和生成法（GM）。
在中国杭州和福州对31名6至10岁儿童进行了一项定性研究。儿童在一对一环节中参与RGT（使用产品卡片进行二分比较）和GM（通过绘画/黏土进行创造性表达）。对任务输出进行主题分析和描述性统计。
确定的主题包括感官、包装、互动、情感、认知和社会文化。儿童对食物成分表示关注，但对糖的功能和文化意义理解有限。RGT引出了更多产品属性（358个，而GM为190个），差异有统计学意义（<0.001）。RGT产生了具体和抽象属性的平衡组合，而GM引出了更多抽象属性。
研究结果表明，可以对儿童进行有关含糖零食配方和文化方面的教育。鼓励开展更丰富的“口腔内”和“身体内”互动教育可能有益。采用以儿童为中心的方法能促进引人入胜的对话。RGT有效地激发儿童产生具体和抽象的产品属性，易于理解但趣味性较低。另一方面，GM往往产生更多强烈反映儿童偏好的抽象和新颖想法。然而，理解它需要更多时间和认知努力，尽管它保持了较高的趣味性和参与度。了解这些发现有助于开展吸引和促使儿童参与的营养教育。对启发式技术的见解可以指导寻求有效理解儿童观点的研究人员。
