US EPA

5932788 

Dissertation 

Applying the theory of planned behavior to understand plate waste of elementary school students 

Miller, JM; Modeste, NN; Hopp, JW; Jara, E 

2014 

Loma Linda, CA 

Loma Linda University 

Doctoral Dissertation 

English 

Background. According to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), human behavior is guided by behavioral, normative, and control beliefs. Plate waste among elementary school children has been widely explored. There is, however, a gap in the current body of literature regarding plate waste and the TPB. Purpose. To answer the following: (a) What factors influence plate waste among elementary children? (b) Which variables in the TPB significantly predict plate waste among elementary children? (c) To what extent do children's self-reported patterns of food waste in each food category match the actual plate waste in the corresponding food category? Method. Children in grades four through six in San Bernardino County were given a 69-item TPB questionnaire at the beginning of their school day. After lunch, the same children were given a second questionnaire on which they self-reported their estimated food consumption overall and in five specific food categories. Participants were randomly selected to provide their food trays to the researchers. The discarded food items on those trays were measured and used to validate the self-reported data. Results. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were found to be significant predictors of children's plate waste intentions, explaining 53.5% (p < 0.05) of the variance in attention. Perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor of intention to waste food (b = 0.60, p < 0.001), followed by attitude (b = 0.45, P < 0.05), and subjective norms (b = 0.25, P < 0.05). Participants' intended plate waste significantly predicts their estimated self-reported total food waste (b = 0.28, p < 0.05) and their estimated self-reported vegetable waste (b = 0.28, p < 0.05). All other food categories were non-significant. There was a weak association found between intention and plate waste behavior. The correlations between estimated self-reported food waste in each category and plate waste in each category range from 0.65 to 0.86. Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that the theory of planned behavior is useful for exploring the factors related to children's plate waste. These findings should be considered when planning plate waste educational interventions and modifications to existing school cafeteria programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) 

plate waste elementary school students theory of planned behavior food interventions Behavior Intervention