Measuring stage of change for assessing readiness to increase fruit and vegetable intake among 18-to 24-year-olds

Purpose. To examine the appropriateness of the five-stage, schema developed for addictive behaviors when applied to nonaddictive behaviors such as fru it and vegetable consumption. Design. A cross-sectional mail survey was conducted. Setting. Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to the home addresses of respondents recruited in 10 states and returned upon completion. Subjects. In all, 116 male and 185 female young adults (response rate = 70% ) completed the questionnaires. Most respondents were Caucasian (74.4%) and college students (62.2%). Measures. Statistical analyses included analysis of va-fiance with Scheffe' s test, Pearson correlation and Cronbach's a coefficients factor analysis, and cluster analysis. Results. Staging algorithms far fruits and vegetables were. developed accor ding to the five-stage schema, and their construct validity was verified by the incremental trend of food intakes. The algorithms identified more than 80% of the subjects as. precontemplators, preparers, or maintainers for bo th food groups. This distribution pattern agreed well with the three-factor solution generated from the stages of change questionnaire, for which inte rnal reliability and validity were confirmed. Seven cluster profiles of the respondents were derived based on the three generated factors and appeared to represent stage subgroupings of those factors. The two food groups shar ed marked similarities regarding the profiling of the clusters, which was v alidated by comparing food intake. The results, however cannot be generaliz ed because of limitations involved in the current sample. Conclusions. The original five stages of change and traditional staging mea sures may need to be adapted and/or extended for dietary change.