Abstract
BackgroundThe family environment is important for explaining individual health behaviour. While previous research mostly focused on influences among family members and dyadic interactions (parent-child), the purpose of this study was to develop a new measure, the Family Health Climate Scale (FHC-Scale), using a family-based approach. The FHC is an attribute of the whole family and describes an aspect of the family environment that is related to health and health behaviour. Specifically, a questionnaire measuring the FHC (a) for nutrition (FHC-NU) and (b) for activity behaviour (FHC-PA) was developed and validated.MethodsIn Study 1 (N = 787) the FHC scales were refined and validated. The sample was randomly divided into two subsamples. With random sample I exploratory factor analyses were conducted and items were selected according to their psychometric quality. In a second step, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using the random sample II. In Study 2 (N = 210 parental couples) the construct validity was tested by correlating the FHC to self-determined motivation of healthy eating and physical activity as well as the families’ food environment and joint physical activities.ResultsExploratory factor analyses with random sample I (Study 1) revealed a four (FHC-NU) and a three (FHC-PA) factor model. These models were cross-validated with random sample II and demonstrated an acceptable fit [FHC-PA: χ2 = 222.69, df = 74, p < .01; χ2/df = 3.01; CFI = .96; SRMR = .04; RMSEA = .07, CI .06/.08; FHC-NU: χ2 = 278.30, df = 113, p < .01, χ2/df = 2.46, CFI = .96; SRMR = .04; RMSEA = .06, CI .05/.07]. The perception of FHC correlated (p < .01) with the intrinsic motivation of healthy eating (r = .42) and physical activity (r = .56). Moreover, parental perceptions of FHC-NU correlated with household soft drink availability (r = -.31) and perceptions of FHC-PA with the frequency of joint physical activities with the child (r = .51). These patterns were found on the intraindividual and interindividual level.ConclusionsTwo valid instruments measuring the FHC within families were developed. The use of different informants’ ratings demonstrated that the FHC is a family level variable. The results confirm the high relevance of the FHC for individuals’ health behaviour. The FHC and the measurement instruments are useful for examining health-related aspects of the family environment.
Highlights
IntroductionA person’s choice of the type of activity performed during leisure time (regular exercises or playing on the PC) or the type of food consumed every day (healthy foods or ‘empty calories’) is determined by the person’s cognition, emotion, motivation, and volition
A person’s choice of the type of activity performed during leisure time or the type of food consumed every day is determined by the person’s cognition, emotion, motivation, and volition
Using the initial factor solutions, items were removed step by step based on the following criteria: factor loading < .40, cross-loading > .30, communality < .30 and corrected item-scale correlation < .30 [46]. According to these criteria 16 items were removed from the Family health climate (FHC)-PA Scale and 13 items were removed from the Family health climate for nutrition (FHC-NU) Scale
Summary
A person’s choice of the type of activity performed during leisure time (regular exercises or playing on the PC) or the type of food consumed every day (healthy foods or ‘empty calories’) is determined by the person’s cognition, emotion, motivation, and volition. As environmental factor To date, family research has mostly focused on the influence among family members, especially on the interaction between dyads and the parent-child relationships [3,4]. This becomes apparent in the context of health behaviour: extensive research on parental influences on children’s and adolescents’ behaviour has shown that parents play an important role in the development of a healthy lifestyle [5,6,7,8]. A questionnaire measuring the FHC (a) for nutrition (FHC-NU) and (b) for activity behaviour (FHC-PA) was developed and validated
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