Snack consumption among young people. Eating style and the theory of planned behavior

This study aims to test the validity of an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) for the prediction of both intentions and behaviors to eat fresh fruit as a snack‘. eating style‘, as measured by a short Italian version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ, Bailly et al., 2012) which provides individual scores for three eating behavior patterns restrained, emotional, and external eating; van Strien et al., 1986), was added to the TPB constructs as an additional predictor. Data was collected thanks to online questionnaires and with a two-wave design, with a time lag of fifteen days. At T1, TPB constructs, the DEBQ and socio-demographic variables were assessed. At T2, only self-reported consumption behavior was easured. A group of 202 students from the University of Padua took part in the research (88% women). Data were analyzed via Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and hierarchical multiple regression. Results of CFA confirmed the factorial structure of the DEBQ. The introduction of eating style dimensions in the regression models improved the percentage of explained variance of both intention (6%) and behavior (7%). Overall, the TPB-extended model explained 57% of intention variance and 53% of behavior variance. Affective attitude, perceived behavioral control, and restrained eating were significantly related to intention, and behavior was predicted only by intention. In conclusion, the results support the efficacy of TPB in predicting snacking behavior but also highlighted the weight of eating style on intention formation and, indirectly, on behavior.