Abstract
Objective
To discover how college students conduct dinner groups and perceptions of the benefits
and difficulties of participation.
Design
Qualitative study conducted with 7 focus groups.
Setting and Participants
A university campus, with 36 students participating in dinner groups, defined as a
group of 3 people or more cooking for one another (or together) and eating together
at least 4 times a week.
Main Outcome Measure
Dinner groups.
Analysis
The focus group recordings were transcribed, coded, and reconciled. NUDIST NVivo software
(version 8, QSR International, Victoria, Australia, 2008) assisted in coding data
to identify themes and subthemes.
Results
Dinner groups were composed of roommates or students living nearby. They rotated who
made each dinner. Benefits identified included social interaction, increasing confidence
in cooking, saving money and time, and eating more varied and healthful foods. Difficulties,
which were uncommon, included increased time spent on days the student cooked and
stresses related to cooking on a schedule. Students found that the benefits far outweighed
the difficulties and universally wanted to continue in a dinner group.
Conclusions and Implications
College students enjoyed dinner groups, and promoting them may be an option for improving
college students’ eating habits. Nearly all students believed that they ate better
in a dinner group, but research is needed to assess actual intake.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 14, 2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
