Development and preliminary validation of the Meat Consumption Scale

BACKGROUND: The psychology of eating meat has emerged as a major field of study due to growing awareness of the negative impacts of excessive meat consumption on human and planetary health. Examining psychological profiles and testing strategies to address psychological barriers to meat reduction has become a prominent focus in psychology and various other disciplines. However, given the critical importance of psychometrically valid measurement tools in quantitative research, it is concerning that studies have largely relied on unvalidated, ad hoc survey instruments to measure meat consumption. To address this methodological gap this study aimed to develop and conduct an initial validation of a self-report questionnaire to measure an individual’s meat consumption and meat-eating intentions. METHODS: The questionnaire was developed and evaluated through exploratory factor analysis (sample 1: N = 183 Australians) and confirmatory factor analysis (sample 2: N = 495 Australians). Construct validity was evaluated by confirming the scale’s underlying factor structure and through correlations with demographic variables and ten theoretically related constructs. Internal consistency reliability was assessed with mean inter-item correlations, corrected total-item correlations, and coefficient H. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis did not identify a latent meat-eating intention scale, but did reveal a unidimensional latent factor representing total land-based meat consumption, which was named The Meat Consumption Scale (MCS). Confirmatory factor analysis verified the unidimensional structure of the MCS, with all model fit indices demonstrating excellent model fit. All correlations between the MCS and ten theoretically related constructs and demographic variables were significant and in the hypothesised directions, providing preliminary evidence of construct validity. Internal consistency reliability of the MCS was acceptable in both samples when evaluated by mean inter-item correlations and corrected item-total correlations, though coefficient H fell just shy of the recommended threshold. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide preliminary evidence of reliability and construct validity of The Meat Consumption Scale (MCS), which is the first psychometrically evaluated tool designed to measure an individual’s meat consumption using a fast (< 5 min) one-time assessment. This 12-item self-report questionnaire measures consumption of land-based meats—red meat (beef and lamb), poultry products, pork products, and other processed meats—over the past two-week period and is indicative of typical Western meat-eating patterns. The MCS is designed for cross-sectional and experimental research and applied contexts. Further validation of the scale, including assessment of criterion and discriminant validity and cross-cultural adaptations, is recommended.