666 – Recent Advances of Statistical Application to the Health Policy Studies
Construct Validation of Measures Used for Assessing the Effect of Nutrition Education on the Lifestyles of Third-Grade Children
Xia Chen
Iowa Department of Public Health
Christine Hradek
Iowa Department of Public Health
Marilyn Jones
Iowa Department of Public Health
Doris Montgomery
Iowa Department of Public Health
Mack Shelley
Iowa State University
This study investigates the construct validity of methods used to evaluate the effect of nutrition education on the lifestyles of third grade children from Iowa schools who participated in nutrition education lessons provided by the Iowa Department of Public Health’s program in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The traits consist of respondents’ knowledge about a healthy life style, self-efficacy related to respondents’ confidence in their ability to adhere to a healthy lifestyle, and food preferences. Each trait was measured by four methods: children’s assessment before program intervention, children’s assessment after program intervention, parents’ assessment before program intervention, and parents’ assessment after program intervention. A multitrait-multimethod matrix and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess construct validity. The results show that the assessments of knowledge, self-efficacy, and food preference were more valid when they were done by children than by parents, and that the assessments that were done after the program intervention showed more evidence of convergent validity than the assessments that were done before the program intervention.
