Social Cognitive Antecedents of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Truck Drivers: A Sequential Mediation Analysis

To examine a mechanism by which social cognitive factors may predict fruit and vegetable consumption in long-haul truck drivers.

Dietary self-efficacy, positive outcome expectancies, and intentions were assessed in 148 Australian truck drivers, and 1 week later they reported their fruit and vegetable consumption. A theory-guided sequential mediation model was specified that postulated self-efficacy and intention as mediators between outcome expectancies and behavior.

The hypothesized model was confirmed. A direct effect of outcome expectancies was no longer present when mediators were included, and all indirect effects were significant, including the 2-mediator chain (β = .15; P < .05; 95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.32). Truck drivers who expected benefits from dietary change, felt confident about being capable to do so, and formed an intention were likely to report larger amounts of fruit and vegetable intake.

The results suggest that the role of outcome expectancies and self-efficacy are important to consider for understanding and predicting healthy eating intentions in truck drivers.