Abstract
This study compared the retrospective pretest-posttest method to the traditional prospective pretest-posttest method assessing adolescents’ dietary and physical activity, self-efficacy and behaviors. Participants were 7th and 8th grade students at a rural K-8th grade elementary school in Northern California (n=188). All participants completed an evaluation instrument (traditional pretest), followed by a 9-lesson dietary and physical activity intervention. Upon completion of the intervention, participants completed a second and identical evaluation instrument which served as a traditional posttest. The following day, participants completed another evaluation tool, this time formatted as a retrospective pretest. Analysis included sample t tests comparing the means of each method. Participants (n = 154) with a mean age of 13 ± .7 years old were included in the analyses (52% female). Paired sample t tests reported non-significant differences between the two methods for dietary behavior and dietary self-efficacy, yet significant differences were found for physical activity behavior (p < .05) and physical activity self-efficacy (p < .01). We conclude that the retrospective pretest-posttest method was as good a measure of dietary self-efficacy and behavior as the traditional prospective pretest-posttest method and may be better at attenuating response-shift bias when assessing physical activity self-efficacy and behavior.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundEvaluation is an important component of Youth Development programmatic efforts designed to change knowledge and behaviors
Paired sample t tests reported non-significant differences between the two methods for dietary behavior (p =.58) and dietary self-efficacy (p = .22), yet significant differences were found for physical activity behavior (p =.02) and physical activity self-efficacy (p =.002) [Table 2]
Our results suggest that the retrospective pretest method was as good a measure of dietary self-efficacy and behavior in adolescents as the traditional pretest method, and may be better at attenuating response-shift bias when assessing physical activity self-efficacy and behavior
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundEvaluation is an important component of Youth Development programmatic efforts designed to change knowledge and behaviors. A one-group pretest-posttest design is often selected, where the evaluator uses a traditional prospective pretest-posttest method of data collection (Campbell & Stanley, 1966; Smith, Genry, & Ketring, 2005). This method has limitations in real world application, especially with adolescents. In addition to practical barriers, the traditional prospective pretest-posttest method can result in response-shift bias where the participant rates himself differently on the posttest after acquiring new information related to the test item (Cook & Campbell, 1979; Howard & Dailey, 1979). They may be more realistic about their capabilities, masking actual changes with a prospective pretestposttest (Howard et al, 1979)
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