Psychometrics of the “Self-Efficacy Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables Scale” in African American women

•Eating self-efficacy is important when performing obesity reduction interventions.•Measuring the belief in one's ability to eat healthy is critical for understanding eating behaviors.•There are very few constructs of eating self-efficacy.•The Fruit and Vegetable Scale is the only eating self-efficacy scale.•The Fruit and Vegetable Scale (F/V scale) is valid in American populations.

PurposeAssess the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy Consumption of Fruit and Vegetable Scale (F/V scale) in African American women.SettingMidwestern Health Maintenance Organization.Subjects221 African American women age 40-65 with BMI ≥ 30MeasuresF/V scale was compared to eating efficacy/availability subscale reported on the WEL and mean micronutrient intake (vitamins A, C, K, folate, potassium, and beta-carotene reported on 3-day food records.ResultsF/V scale construct validity and internal consistency were assessed and compared to: 1) the original scale validation in Chinese women, 2) WEL scale, and 3) to micronutrient intake from 3-day food records. Total scale scores differed between African American women (μ = 1.87 +/− 0.87) and Chinese (μ = 0.41). In a Chinese population, F/V scale factored into two subscales; the F/V factored into one subscale in African American women. Construct validity was supported with correlation between the F/V scale and the eating efficacy WEL subscale (r2 = − 0.336, p = 0.000). There was not a significant correlation between dietary consumption of micronutrients representative of fruit and vegetable intake and the F/V scale.ConclusionThe F/V scale developed for Chinese populations can be reliably used with African American women.

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