ABSTRACT
Objective
Investigate the relationships between food security status and cooking self-efficacy
and food preparation behaviors among college students.
Methods
Students living off campus while attending the University of Alabama completed an
online survey between February and April 2016. Food security status was assessed using
the Adult Food Security Survey Module. Cooking self-efficacy and food preparation
behaviors were assessed using validated questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis
was used to test for significant differences in cooking self-efficacy and food preparation
scores by food security status.
Results
Among respondents (n = 368), 38.3% were food insecure. Very low food secure students
had significantly lower cooking self-efficacy scores and food preparation scores than
food secure students (P = .001).
Conclusions and Implications
Preparing meals at home is less common for very low food secure students, and these
students demonstrate less confidence in cooking ability. Further study of food-related
decisions and trade-offs under resource constraints are needed.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 08, 2018
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
