A perspective on the Motivation to Comply social norms construct

This social norms construct, motivation to comply (MTC), has been labeled problematic. To understand how MTC has been operationalized and measured, a scoping review was conducted. To retrieve articles, the key words ‘Motivation to Comply’ were used in multiple databases (e.g., MEDLINE), from 2009-2021. Twenty-seven manuscripts were identified, and yet according to the author of this study, only 52% measured MTC correctly. Other studies measured MTC as some other psychosocial construct such as attitudes. This article points to the need for standardization in the definition and measurement of the MTC construct

Stress and coping model for family caregivers of older adults

This study evaluated coping behaviors and social support mediation on the relationship between stress and the outcome variables of perceived physical health and life satisfaction through a progression of models. It was found that although coping behaviors and social support were not mediators, these variables continue to be significant in the caregiving process. Caregivers were found to have significant path differences based on ethnicity, relationship to the care receiver, and gender

Implications of Rice Cultivar Selection to Optimize Returns from Crop Insurance

Rice production differs from most other field crops by distinct differences in yields across cultivars and rice producers being paid for yield after post-harvest milling. Using eleven years (2003-2013) of Arkansas harvest data from performance trials in six different locations, hybrids have 19% higher paddy yields and head rice yield rate 1.7% lower than conventional cultivars. Given the 2014 Farm Bill’s emphasis on crop insurance as a risk management tool for producers, these variations in yield among cultivars have significant implications for rice producers. Comparing national level, crop insurance data on corn, soybeans and rice indicates rice producers strongly prefer yield protection policies (including catastrophic policies) compared with corn and soybean producers who prefer revenue protection. In rice yield and revenue crop insurance policies, no premium distinctions are made on the basis of cultivar. Adjustments for adverse milling outcomes are made only in the most extreme cases. Using an econometric model to predict paddy yields, milled rice yields and head rice yields, the relative returns to yield protection and revenue protection crop insurance are estimated on a per acre basis for both hybrid and conventional cultivars. Additionally, a policy expanding current milling deficiency criteria to milling deficiencies is explored. Results indicate mean loss-cost hybrids exceed mean loss-cost ratios for conventional cultivars for revenue protection by 0.37 and by 0.47 for yield protection. The results also suggest that rice producers should prefer revenue protection policies over yield protection policies (based on economic returns), and they should insure their rice crops at higher buy-up levels than they currently do. A revenue protection policy that would cover adverse milling outcomes would increase the mean indemnity by about 20%

evaluation of a theory based childhood overweight prevention curriculum

Food Fit, a social cognitive theory based (SCT) nutrition intervention, was implemented to 3rd-5th grade student’s at 5 YMCA after-school programs to impact specific dietary behaviors associated with the prevention of childhood overweight (n = 58). Pre and post tests were administered for each lesson to evaluate changes in behavioral capabilities (BC), self efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancies (OE) for each lesson's key objectives. A child-modified Food Behavior Checklist was administered before and after the program to evaluate dietary behaviors. Results showed significant improvements for SCT psychosocial variables (i.e. outcome expectancies for eating raw vegetables (p<0.01), self efficacy for eating fruit (p<.05)) Significant dietary changes included an increased consumption of fruits and vegetables as snacks (p<.001), citrus fruits and juice (p<0.02), raw vegetables (p<.001), and increased use of the food label to determine food selection (p<0.001). The FF program appears to be successful at favorably impacting children's BC, SE and OE for food selection behaviors thought to contribute to the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity. FF may be a viable nutrition program for use in multi-component interventions, aimed at impacting behaviors associated with the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity

Predictors of Snack Food Consumption Among Upper Elementary Children Using Social Cognitive Theory

This study examined the extent to which the constructs of social cognitive theory (SCT) can predict snack food consumption among elementary school-age children. A valid and reliable 22-item instrument was administered to 212 children. Snack food consumption was evaluated by asking children to recall and report all foods consumed outside of meals in the previous 24 hours. On average, the children consumed 513 calories from snack foods per day. Most came from sugar-sweetened beverages and calorically dense snacks. Fruit and vegetable snacks were positively predicted by self-control ( R2 = 0.017), and sugar-sweetened beverage snacks were negatively predicted by self-control (R2 = 0.022). SCT is a prominent theory in health education and promotion. The findings suggest that self-control may be an important construct to snack food intake

Addressing Scientific Literacy in Oklahoma: The STEMist Program

Scientific literacy is essential for success of youth and adults in the 21st century. In 2017, Oklahoma 4-H Youth Development initiated a fellowship program to address scientific literacy throughout Oklahoma: the STEMist program. Through this program, college students with a background or interest in science are recruited, trained, and sent to teach science workshops to youths at various educational events during the summer months. In its inaugural year, the program reached over 2,000 youths. The program addresses scientific literacy, aids in career readiness, and promotes 4-H to audiences previously unaware of the positive impact it can have on today\u27s young people

Process Evaluations for a Multisite Nutrition Education Program

Process evaluations are an often-overlooked component of evaluating health promotion interventions, but can be essential for interpreting program outcomes. The purpose of this study was to report the results of two types of process evaluations conducted for Food Fit, a nutrition education program implemented to 58 3rd through 5th grade children (67% Caucasian) in 5 YMCA after school programs. To evaluate program fidelity, a trained observer watched each lesson and recorded program adherence using a standardized checklist, outlining essential components of the intervention. Attendance was recorded by asking each child to complete a small task before and after each lesson. Results showed that program adherence was perfect in most cases and attendance rates varied, but were generally high. Attendance rates were not associated with improvement in nutrition behaviors. Implications and recommendations for future use of process evaluations are discussed

The Utilization of Process Evaluations in Childhood Obesity Intervention Research: A Review of Reviews

Process evaluations are an essential component to evaluating health promotion programs, however they are consistently under-utilized and oftentimes not reported upon in the literature. This study reports the use of process evaluations in childhood obesity prevention interventions implemented over the past three decades. Seven meta-analyses and systematic reviews were located for this review or reviews, and from these, 119 unique references were identified. Each article was retrieved and read for appropriateness, and 20 were excluded for a variety of reasons (ex. not published in English language), resulting in 99 articles included for this study. Overall, process evaluations were not well reported upon. Only 38 studies reported the fidelity of program implementation, 25 studies tracked participant attendance, 29 studied evaluated participant satisfaction, and 49 studies reported how staff members were trained. Additionally, one-third of the studies did not report using a single type of process evaluation, and only 5 studies reported using all four types. Results from this study suggest that the use of process evaluations has been low in this area of research, which may explain why many obesity prevention studies have reported mixed or modest results. Suggestions for implementing simple, yet effective process evaluations in future studies will be presented

Comparing the Utility of the Theory of Planned Behavior Between Boys and Girls for Predicting Snack Food Consumption: Implications for Practice

The purpose of this study was to use the theory of planned behavior to explain two types of snack food consumption among boys and girls (girls n = 98; boys n = 69), which may have implications for future theory-based health promotion interventions. Between genders, there was a significant difference for calorie-dense/nutrient-poor snacks (p = .002), but no difference for fruit and vegetable snacks. Using stepwise multiple regression, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms accounted for a large amount of the variance of intentions (girls = 43.3%; boys = 55.9%); however, for girls, subjective norms accounted for the most variance, whereas for boys, attitudes accounted for the most variance. Calories from calorie-dense/nutrient-poor snacks and fruit and vegetable snacks were also predicted by intentions. For boys, intentions predicted 6.4% of the variance for fruit and vegetable snacks (p = .03) but was not significant for calorie-dense/nutrient-poor snacks, whereas for girls, intentions predicted 6.0% of the variance for fruit and vegetable snacks (p = .007), and 7.2% of the variance for calorie-dense/nutrient-poor snacks (p = .004). Results suggest that the theory of planned behavior is a useful framework for predicting snack foods among children; however, there are important differences between genders that should be considered in future health promotion interventions.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline