Maternal Nutrition Knowledge and Attitudes - Essay Example

In an effort to contribute to the greater comprehension the relationship amidst the attitude and social norms and frequency of consumption within the theory of the planned behaviour, a prolonged model was utilized in prediction of the personal norms, neighbourhood identifications coupled with the descriptive social norms. Data from the field study (N=49) utilizing questionnaire measures dependent variables pertaining to the predicted behaviour, whilst attitude and personal social norm predicted intention of frequency of consumption. This research examined the plausibility and robustness of the Theory of Planned Behaviour in forecasting and elaboration of frequency of consumption. The study compared the efficient of the TPB in predicting attitude of frequency of consumption. Data for this secondary analysis were section of the longitudinal research. Results offered strong correlation for the utilization of the TPB within this context and depict that the model is strong. The model components reached significance at the 0.05 level, Attitude of frequency consumption explained 38% of the variance regarding the frequency of consumption of products. Moreover, 76% of the underlying variance in frequency of consumption was elaborated by the attitudes and social norms. Even though the models were efficient in forecasting frequency of consumption as expected, the corresponding TPB was more effective in prediction of the frequency of consumption. Introduction Maternal knowledge, motivation or attitudes, behaviours and some barriers such as poverty are some of the important predictors of child nutrition. Among the underlying broad range of the theoretical theories in elaborating food and consumption behaviour, the theory of reason action and corresponding theory of the planned behaviour are the most popular model. These models elaborate intention and food consumption including food consumption by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control of the individual toward the product. Numerous researches extend by incorporating factors such as quality, moral norms, social identity, descriptive norms and other factors pertaining to the habit within the TPB model to give wider understanding of the food attitudes and consumption. Trust and knowledge concerning the quality of the food is depicted to be significance for the consumer’s attitude and consumption when food are perceived to be risky and might cause negative consequences to the consumers or their family. Therefore, consumers are currently much concern about the risk and corresponding health issues associated to the food intake. Maternal nutrition knowledge and attitudes Both proper early nutrition and the establishment of effective eating behaviours early in life influence the healthy growth and development of all children. Therefore, it is imperative that nutritional resources such as: healthy foods and nutritiously balanced meals be available during childhood to avoid detrimental effects in the cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development of children in the present and long-term. For this reason, it is important for mothers to have basic nutritional knowledge (knowledge about what constitutes a balanced diet, what foods provide required nutrients, and how to prepare nutritious meals) and access to nutritional resources for their families. Research indicates that parental attitudes, particularly maternal attitudes, towards nutrition affect children’s exposure to foods, their habits, their portion sizes, the variety and amount of fruits, vegetables and meat eaten, and their preference. These effects have been seen to have the strongest influence during early childhood when the mothers act as the provider, enforcers, and role models. Additionally, the more maternal knowledge, positive attitudes, and motivation about nutrition and health, the better the child’s diet; which suggests that a mother’s motivation can affect what she feeds her children. Furthermore, mothers who are most knowledgeable about nutrition demonstrate the most positive child feeding practices such as offering balanced meals and nutritious snacks importantly, as a mother’s nutritional knowledge and attitude improve so does her child’s diet in that the fat intake decreases and fibre intake increases Parental Food-Related Behaviour The food choices mothers make directly affect those of their children. Research has shown that the diet of most low income adults is substandard and exposure to a variety of foods is limited. This can lead rural low-income mothers’ perspective on children’s feeding practices to an especially high risk for diet-related health problems in young low-income children since parents are primarily responsible for the child’s exposure and consumption of foods. University of Pennsylvania Human Development professor Leann L. Birch and associates have conducted years of research on children is feeding practices, examining both the predictors and consequences of various eating behaviours. Their studies have focused particularly on development of food preferences and problems of energy balance such as obesity, dieting, and food controlling strategies, and disordered eating. Researchers have found that parents directly influence what children eat by what they, the parents, purchase, prepare, offer, and encourage their children to eat. They have also found similarities between parental eating behaviours and weight and that of their children. Additionally, research indicates child overeating when parents withhold access to high calorie snacks and foods or use foods as a reward, removing the association between hungers and eating. While these findings contribute to our knowledge about feeding practices, there are clear limitations in generalization because the samples used were largely Caucasian, urban, and middle class. Method Design and materials Self-reported recycling participation coupled with the relevant predictors variables were measured utilizing a Likert-type questionnaire. Because the questions were part of the extensive survey, care was taken in order to minimize the corresponding length of the inventory whilst preserving its underlying integrity. The descriptive social norm for the recycling was measured utilizing items. An item at the end of the questionnaire measured self-reported recovering behaviour, where the prevailing respondents were asked on the frequency of consumption. Design and measures The relevant predictors of frequency of consumption were examined utilizing quantitative self-scales within the questionnaire survey, which were asked for the applicable demographic information. The questionnaire utilized headings that depicted the whole gist of the scales within the non-technical items. DATA ANALYSIS Two sets of hierarchical regression analyses were undertaken, with the examinational of the application of the theory of the planned behaviour to the prediction of the frequency of the consumption. Means, standard deviations, correlations and corresponding alpha of the variables were computed. The intercorrelation among the predictors depicted any interdependence among the frequency of consumption and attitude and social norms. The theory of the planned behaviour were highly correlated with the corresponding behavioural intentions since the group social norms and corresponding group identification attitude were significantly correlated with the frequency of consumption among the selected populace. Standard multiple regression was performed amidst the frequency of consumption as the dependent variable and attitude and social norms as independent variable. The components of the underlying theory of the planned behaviour accounted for 68% of the variable within the behavioural of frequency of consumption and was significant at p Read More