| There is an inverse relationship for fruit and vegetable consumption and the incidence of certain chronic diseases. African American women consume less than the recommended amount. African Americans also represent a disproportionate percentage of the low SES population and experience excess morbidity and mortality for the leading causes of death. In this study, the constructs of the Transtheoretical Model (TM) which include the stages of change, the pros and cons to change, self-efficacy, and processes of change were applied to fruit and vegetable intake of low-income African American mothers.; The think aloud method was used in Phase I to collect qualitative data from low-income African American mothers of young children in both a grocery store and at home. Verbalizations made during food selection, purchasing, and preparation from 70 women were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis procedures were used to generate common themes regarding pros and cons to change, self-efficacy and processes of change and translated into survey items for use in Phase II.; In Phase II, quantitative survey methodology was used to test whether: (1) perceptions of pros and cons, (2) self-efficacy, (3) processes of change, and (4) practices to provide fruits and vegetables to children were related to the stages of readiness to change. Survey data were collected from 434 women according to stage of change. The mean age was 31.9 years and mothers had an average of 2.7 children. Many women had attended college (44%) and used food stamps (61%). Participants in the earlier stages consumed approximately 3 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, while those in the later stages consumed approximately 10 servings per day. Self-efficacy scores and both the behavioral and experiential processes of change component scores increased with stage advancement. There were also differences by stage in the pro scores. Most of the practices used by mothers to provide fruits and vegetables to children were associated with stage of change, authoritative parenting, and self-efficacy. In summary, the TM is appropriate for application in interventions to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in low-income African American mothers. |
