Predictors of fruits and vegetable consumption in adolescent girls based on social cognitive theory

Abstract

Aims Adequate intake of fruits and vegetables has many positive effects on adolescent health. However, many adolescences do not intake the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. This study aimed to determine the predictors of fruit and vegetable intake in first-grade high school female students in Ilam city using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Instrument & Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 332 high school female students in Ilam in 2018. The samples were selected from 5 public schools by multistage random sampling. Data were collected using a 42-item researcher-made questionnaire based on Social Cognitive Theory. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the qualitative method and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression by SPSS 19 software. Findings The mean age of the subjects was 13.72±0.97 years with a range of 12 to 16 years. Students’ fathers were often (45.2%) employees and their mothers were often (78%) housewives. Most fathers had a university degree (52.1%) and mothers had a diploma (36.4%). Overall, social cognitive structures predicted 20.9% of behavior variance. However, only self-regulation predicted behavior significantly (p=0.001), and other structures did not predict behavior significantly. Conclusions The Social Cognitive Theory can be used as a suitable theoretical framework for predicting adolescent behaviors associated with fruit and vegetable intake.