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Title: Factorial validity of the Delta Healthy Eating Attitudes Scale related to diet quality

Author
item LEMACKS, JENNIFER - University Of Southern Mississippi
item LANDRY, ALICIA - University Of Southern Mississippi
item HUYE, HOLLY - University Of Southern Mississippi
item CONNELL, CAROL - University Of Southern Mississippi

Submitted to: Health Behavior and Policy Review
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2014
Publication Date: 1/11/2015
Citation: Lemacks, J.L., Landry, A.S., Huye, H., Connell, C. 2015. Factorial validity of the Delta Healthy Eating Attitudes Scale related to diet quality. Health Behavior and Policy Review. 2(1): 82-91.

Interpretive Summary: There is a need for simpler ways to organize information on the psychological and social aspects of dietary behavior, as these relate to one's choices regarding diet quality. Most studies look at psychosocial behaviors with respect to only one food group and relate these behaviors to the consumption of items in that single food group. What would be more useful to researchers is a way to look at total diet quality, which includes the consumption of multiple food groups. A questionnaire was developed that measured aspects of a person's decision-making practices, one's belief in their ability to succeed with a task, and one’s social support network, as these related to consuming items in individual food groups. These individual measures were used to make one combined assessment that could be compared to overall diet quality. The study found that this approach was reliable and that the items measured could be used to define psychosocial behaviors in relation to diet quality in a more simplified but useful manner.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to establish factorial validity of decisional balance (DB), self-efficacy (SE) and social support (SS) psychosocial constructs and convergent validity related to diet quality. A sample (N=319) of predominantly African American women from the Mississippi Communities for Healthy Living intervention completed the Delta Healthy Eating Attitudes Scale (DHEAS) and diet questionnaires in 2011. Convergent validity was used to evaluate Diet Quality (DQ) DB, DQSE, DQSS latent variables and diet quality relationships. Factor loadings and model fit indicators suggested latent constructs were reliable. DQDB and DQSE were associated with diet quality (r = .19-.27,p < .001), but not DQSS. DHEAS is a reliable, composite method to represent diet quality psychosocial constructs compatible with available diet quality measurements.