The intention-behaviour gap does not differ according to socioeconomic status in French adolescents

Abstract

Background: Socio-economic status (SES) has been shown to exert both a direct and indirect (via socio-cognitive variables) effect on health behaviour, in various behavioural domains. Recent research has also demonstrated that SES moderates the strength of the relationship between socio-cognitive variables (intentions) and behaviour. Purpose : This study aims to explore whether, as has been demonstrated for other health behaviours, the intention-behaviour gap is more pronounced for those of lower SES, in a sample of French adolescents. Methods : Effects were tested on data from a longitudinal questionnaire study (CAPSCA) examining healthy eating behaviour in French adolescents (N=1132). SES, socio-economic status and socio-cognitive variables were measured at baseline and healthy eating behaviour two years later. Results: Controlling for SES, sex and socio-cognitive variables, there was no significant interaction between SES and intentions on healthy eating behaviour, b=0.06, t(1114)=1.26,p=.21. Discussion: We discuss how the absence of a moderating effect of SES on the intention-behaviour gap in this sample could be due to environmental factors specific to the French school system, the behavioural context examined here, or the measurements used.