Propiedades psicométricas de la escala de autoeficacia para los hábitos alimentarios (AEHA)

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe the preliminary psychometric properties of the "Self-Efficacy to Regulate Eating Habits (SERES)". Material and methods: Participated in a randomized clinical trial for lifestyle modification 135 subjects with metabolic syndrome, who were divided into two groups (e.g., experimental and control), in a 18-months follow-up. The evaluation included anthropometric, clinical, psychological and lifestyle data. To verify the validity and reliability, a factorial analysis was performed, as well as analyses of the internal consistency, temporal stability, sensitivity to change, and convergent validity. Results: A solution with two factors was extracted, which explained 60.97% of the variance of the SERES. The internal consistency for the total score was 0,971 - Cronbach's alpha. Regarding temporal stability, no changes were observed during the follow-up in the control group. With regard to sensitivity to change, the experimental group showed greater self-efficacy than did the control group during the follow-up. Conclusions: These preliminary results showed adequate psychometric properties of the scale, demonstrating that this is a valid and reliable scale for assessing self-efficacy related to food behaviors.