Revisiting the food agency framework: from understanding why we cook to improving the measurement of food agency

Abstract

The concept of food agency reflects the socially embedded characteristics of cooking and food preparation in modern society, while this contextual nature also posts challenges to measuring cooking behavior. The Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale (CAFPAS) was developed as a measurement tool attempting to measure these structural factors, but recent evaluation studies on this scale found that the structure domain of the current CAFPAS, with only time constraints, might not be able to capture the full social structural factors that influence individuals' capacities of cooking and food preparation.

In response to the need of an improved measurement tool for food agency, this dissertation is constructed on a continuum of studies in a classic scale development workflow. First, the study revisited the food agency conceptual framework deductively with a review of literatures on the facilitators and barriers of cooking and food preparation, as well as the existing measurement tools, setting the theoretical bases for the scale development. Second, an inductive sequential exploratory mixed-methods study with concept mapping approach on 39 adults from sub/urban and rural/remote Virginia revealed that although time, ingredients, motivation, and health were common factors influencing home meal preparation, regional differences were observed from individuals' lived experiences on how these factors manifested. Third, another inductive exploratory study was conducted with 3745 user-generated contents collected from an online community with innovative AI-assistant qualitative thematic analysis, adding to the findings that individuals constantly compare between options of food consumptions to evaluate if home cooking is practical, and that several values of home meal beyond nourishing, such as mindful practices, sense of achievement, and social connectedness, that may make them feel more empowered to cook. Finally, the findings from the first three stages were synthesized into a scale development and validation study with a Census-based sample of US adults (N = 996). The product of this study, a four-factor, 23-item scale named Food Agency Scale (FAS), was proved to be a reliable, valid, and theoretically appropriate measurement tool of food agency that predicted more meals prepared at home, more meals prepared from scratch, increased consumption of healthy foods, and lower food neophobia. The FAS, by incorporating the positive beliefs on cooking, and the practical considerations on the effort, cost, and options around food preparation, enhanced the current CAFPAS with a broader capture of social structural factors.

Collectively, this dissertation study informs food, nutrition, and public health practitioners of the importance of contextual considerations for making population-specific recommendations on dietary choice and health behavior. This dissertation also opened the space for further methodological studies on the effective use of human intelligence and artificial intelligence in collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data.