Determinants of Healthy Snacks Choice by Mothers of 1-5 years old children in Hamadan Based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

There is evidence that snacks provide a significant part of daily energy and nutrients in children. Choosing healthy snacks for children can contribute to a healthy diet. The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of healthy snacks choice by mothers using the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). In this cross-sectional study, 398 mothers of a 1-5 year old child were selected using cluster sampling among 12 health centers in Hamedan city. The participants completed self-report measures of background information, SCT constructs, and a food frequency questionnaire. According to the Content Validity Ratio (CVA), Content Validity Index (CVI), and Cronbach's alpha, the questionnaires were reliable and valid. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version, 15) and based on Chi-squared, ANOVA and linear regression tests. Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05. The findings of this study showed that availability, outcome expectancy, and self- efficacy were the significant predictors of mothers’ healthy snacks choice. These factors together explained 14.5% of the variance of this behavior. In the development and implementation of snacking education interventions for mothers, proper methods to change availability, outcome expectancy, and self- efficacy should be considered.