Assessment of Foods and Nutrition Competencies in Adolescents – AFANCA
Measures food intake regulation, meal planning, food preparation, and food storage skills in adolescents.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Assessment of Foods and Nutrition Competencies in Adolescents – AFANCA was developed by Jun Wang, Allison G. Drabek, Xin Li, Darlene H. Locke, Julie G. Gardner (2023). It is designed to measure Foods and nutrition competencies. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents (Grades 6-12, Ages 11-19).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 24 items organized into 6 factors/subscales: Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Recipe Modification, Nutrition Knowledge, Food Preparation, Food Safety, Nutrition Labels.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit and Vegetable Consumption | 1,2,3 | 3 |
| Recipe Modification | 4,5,6 | 3 |
| Nutrition Knowledge | 7,8,9 | 3 |
| Food Preparation | 10,11,12 | 3 |
| Food Safety | 13,14,15,16,17 | 5 |
| Nutrition Labels | 18,19,20,21,22,23,24 | 7 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 (Items 1-3) = Rarely or none of the plate, 5 (Items 1-3) = >= 4 times a day or three-fourths of plate, 1 (Items 4-24) = Strongly disagree, 7 (Items 4-24) = Strongly agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of McDonald's omega 0.74 to 0.91 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 8 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.