BACKGROUND: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Fresh Start (WFS) is a randomized controlled trial of nutrition education to promote farmers' market fruit and vegetable (F/V) purchases and consumption among women enrolled in WIC. OBJECTIVES: Using baseline data from WFS to examine associations between social desirability trait, the tendency to respond in a manner consistent with expected norms, and self-reported F/V intake and to determine whether associations, if found, are moderated by participant characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. PARTICIPANTS/ SETTING: Seven hundred forty-four women enrolled in WFS. The setting is a New Jersey-based WIC agency located in a densely populated urban area. MEASURES: Items assessing participant characteristics, a short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and validated measures of the frequency and quantity of F/V intake. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Linear regression analysis to examine associations between social desirability trait and F/V intake and hierarchical regression analysis to test for moderation by participant characteristics of the associations between social desirability trait and F/V intake. RESULTS: Social desirability trait was significantly associated with times per day vegetables were reported to have been consumed (β=0.08, P=0.03). The association was moderated by breastfeeding status. Among breastfeeding women, social desirability trait was unrelated to reported intake, whereas among non-breastfeeding women, it was positively associated with intake (a 1-unit increase in the social desirability score was associated with a 0.12 increase in times per day vegetables were reported to have been consumed). CONCLUSIONS: Social desirability trait is associated with self-reported vegetable intake among WIC participants generally and non-breastfeeding participants in particular and should be assessed in these groups. Replication studies with comparative measures of "true intake" are needed to determine whether social desirability trait biases self-reports of vegetable intake or whether those with a high social desirability trait consume vegetables more often.
BACKGROUND: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Fresh Start (WFS) is a randomized controlled trial of nutrition education to promote farmers' market fruit and vegetable (F/V) purchases and consumption among women enrolled in WIC. OBJECTIVES: Using baseline data from WFS to examine associations between social desirability trait, the tendency to respond in a manner consistent with expected norms, and self-reported F/V intake and to determine whether associations, if found, are moderated by participant characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. PARTICIPANTS/ SETTING: Seven hundred forty-four women enrolled in WFS. The setting is a New Jersey-based WIC agency located in a densely populated urban area. MEASURES: Items assessing participant characteristics, a short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and validated measures of the frequency and quantity of F/V intake. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Linear regression analysis to examine associations between social desirability trait and F/V intake and hierarchical regression analysis to test for moderation by participant characteristics of the associations between social desirability trait and F/V intake. RESULTS: Social desirability trait was significantly associated with times per day vegetables were reported to have been consumed (β=0.08, P=0.03). The association was moderated by breastfeeding status. Among breastfeeding women, social desirability trait was unrelated to reported intake, whereas among non-breastfeeding women, it was positively associated with intake (a 1-unit increase in the social desirability score was associated with a 0.12 increase in times per day vegetables were reported to have been consumed). CONCLUSIONS: Social desirability trait is associated with self-reported vegetable intake among WIC participants generally and non-breastfeeding participants in particular and should be assessed in these groups. Replication studies with comparative measures of "true intake" are needed to determine whether social desirability trait biases self-reports of vegetable intake or whether those with a high social desirability trait consume vegetables more often.
Keywords:
Fruit and vegetable intake; Nutrition education; Randomized controlled trial; Social desirability trait; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Authors: Angela Kong; Marian Fitzgibbon; Colin Hubbard; Richard T Campbell; Nicollette Kessee; Linda Schiffer Journal: Appetite Date: 2022-02-04 Impact factor: 5.016
Authors: Sonja H Brunvoll; Inger Thune; Hanne Frydenberg; Vidar G Flote; Gro F Bertheussen; Ellen Schlichting; Kristian S Bjerve; Anette Hjartåker Journal: Nutr J Date: 2018-10-17 Impact factor: 3.271