Development and Validation of a B.E.A.N. Survey for College Students

Abstract

BackgroundCollege students often do not consume the recommended amounts of beans and legumes. To develop interventions aimed at improving the intake of beans and legumes in the college population, more information is needed on the behaviors, environment, attitudes, and nutrition knowledge (B.E.A.N.) of college students regarding beans. Validated tools to assess these bean‐related constructs are currently lacking.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study are to 1). Gather preliminary qualitative information about bean‐related constructs (Phase I); and 2). Create a valid and reliable survey tool to measure the B.E.A.N. constructs with a larger sample of college students (Phase II).MethodsPhase I included cognitive interviews with university students (n = 30) to collect baseline data on the B.E.A.N. constructs. Phase II involved survey development and content validation with 5 content experts and face validation with 5 undergraduate students. A convenience sample of undergraduate students was surveyed to test internal structure and consistency (n = 355), establish convergent and discriminant evidence (n = 351), and measure test‐retest reliability (n = 242) of the developed tool.ResultsDevelopment and revisions in Phase I and content and face validation resulted in a 13‐question survey consisting of four primary constructs of behavior (4 items), environment (2 items), attitudes (5 items), and nutrition knowledge (2 items). In Phase II, factor analysis resulted in one factor of “bean consumption” being created from combining attitude and behavior questions, with factor loadings from .776 to .947. However, two environment and two knowledge questions were retained due to perceived relevancy. The internal consistency was α = 0.967 for the “bean consumption” construct and α = 0.962 for the entire survey. The knowledge construct was validated by those that had taken an introductory nutrition course having significantly higher mean knowledge scores than those that had not taken an introductory nutrition course (p < 0.001; 3.05 ± .89 vs. 2.30 ± 1.62, respectively). The test‐retest results ranged from r = .480 to .825 with all correlations being statistically significant (p < 0.010; 2‐tailed). The average total score for the pilot testing was 34.74 (± 27.27) out of a possible 100 points.ConclusionThis validated survey may be used in future research to examine the B.E.A.N. of college students regarding beans. This knowledge may be valuable in developing future effective health promotion interventions with college students.Support or Funding InformationThis project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Grant no. 2014‐67001‐21851 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, “Get Fruved:” A peer‐led, train‐the‐trainer social marketing intervention to increase fruit and vegetable intake and prevent childhood obesity – A2101.