Assessment of attitudes toward dietary change of participants in the Michigan Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program

Assessment of attitudes toward dietary change have not been conducted in prior evaluations of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). This research was conducted in the Michigan EFNEP to determine if (1) attitudes toward dietary change of participating homemakers improved as a result of program participation, (2) how pretest attitude scores were related to change in food recall scores, (3) if change in attitude and food recall scores of homemakers were related, (4) if attitude change of homemakers was predicted by: pretest attitude scores of homemakers or instructors, food recall pretest or change scores of homemakers, instructors' years of experience, locus of control pretest or change scores of homemakers, and (5) if dietary (food recall) change could be predicted by: locus of control changes scores of homemakers, instructors' years of experience, attitude change scores of homemakers, pretest food recall scores, or pretest attitude scores of homemakers or instructors.;Results of ANOVA and t-test analyses indicated that attitudes toward dietary change of EFNEP participants improved significantly (p ;A Likert scale was used to assess attitudes toward dietary change and locus of control. A 24-hour food recall was used to measure self-reported dietary intake. Content and construct validity and reliability of the attitude and locus of control instruments was established. Data were collected from 195 low-income homemakers, 47 program aides and a comparison group of 66 women enrolled in the Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children.