Guided goal setting: effectiveness in a dietary and physical activity intervention with low-income adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
Determining the effectiveness of the guided goal setting strategy on changing adolescents' dietary and physical activity self-efficacy and behaviors.


METHODS
Adolescents were individually assigned to treatment (intervention with guided goal setting) or control conditions (intervention without guided goal setting) with data collected before and after the education intervention.


METHODS
Urban middle school in a low-income community in Central California.


METHODS
Ethnically diverse middle school students (n = 94, 55% male) who were participants of a USDA nutrition education program.


METHODS
Driven by the Social Cognitive Theory, the intervention targeted dietary and physical activity behaviors of adolescents.


METHODS
Dietary self-efficacy and behavior; physical activity self-efficacy and behavior; goal effort and spontaneous goal setting.


METHODS
ANCOVA and path analysis were performed using the full sample and a sub-sample informed by Locke's recommendations (accounting for goal effort and spontaneous goal setting).


RESULTS
No significant differences were found between groups using the full sample. Using the sub-sample, greater gains in dietary behavior (p < .05), physical activity behavior (p < .05), and physical activity self-efficacy (p < .05) were made by treatment participants compared to control participants. Change in physical activity behaviors was mediated by self-efficacy.


CONCLUSIONS
Accounting for goal effort and spontaneous goal setting, this study provides some evidence that the use of guided goal setting with adolescents may be a viable strategy to promote dietary and physical activity behavior change.
Shilts
Mical Kay
MK
Family and Consumer Sciences Department, California State University Sacramento, Sacramento, California USA.
Horowitz
Marcel
M
Townsend
Marilyn S
MS
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002140:California; D004035:Diet Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009043:Motor Activity; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016730:Program Development; D012574:Schools; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students