Assessment of Foods and Nutrition Competencies in Adolescents – AFANCA
Measures food intake regulation, meal planning, food preparation, and food safety 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).
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 = Strongly Disagree / Rarely, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat Disagree, 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree, 5 = Somewhat Agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strongly Agree.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 24 to 162. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Foods and Nutrition Competency: 24 – 70
- Moderate Foods and Nutrition Competency: 71 – 116
- High Foods and Nutrition Competency: 117 – 162
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 – 0.91.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.