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Background (Background, Rationale, Prior Research, and/or Theory): Descriptions of college students' perception of the healthfulness of their campus can inform the development of tailored nutrition education programs. Objective: To develop an assessment tool, Behavior Environment Perception Survey (BEPS), measuring college students' perception of the healthfulness of different domains of environmental influencers of health. Study Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: A sequential process of measurement development included item generation by experts at seven universities using a pool of existing items and item sorting based on domain/ construct. Then, college students participated in cognitive interviews and a pilot survey administration. Finally, survey field testing data were used for confirmatory factor analysis and reliability testing to construct the final questionnaire. Analyses used SPSS and EQS. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Item generation from experts at seven universities resulted in 100 items, reduced to 93 items based on sorting. Items were eliminated based on content analysis of cognitive interviews (n = 120); identification of misinterpreted items and exploratory factor analysis of pilot survey data (n = 724 at 6 universities; elimination of cross-loading [ > .30] or weak loading [ < .40] items). The field test (n = 2,724 at 6 universities) included the refined 31-item measure which underwent confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results: A 23-item, 5-factor structure was the best fit for the data (χ = 3,462.15, df = 209; CFI = .841; RMSEA = 0.076). The perceived healthfulness of the environment factors were: physical activity (α = .71; 5 items), healthy eating (α = .85; 5 items), mental health (α = .85; 5 items), barriers to health (α = .70; 4 items), and social influences (α = .73; 3 items). Conclusions and Implications: BEPS is a novel, brief instrument measuring college students' perception of the healthfulness of their environment. Strengths include: strong psychometric properties, breadth of constructs, and comprehensive instrument development process involving a large sample from seven different universities. Future steps include validation studies.

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Introduction: Numerous external factors, including parental influences, impact the dietary quality and physical activity of children. In this study, we examined if parental views were associated with the dietary quality and physical activity of children. Design: A cross-sectional observational study was used to recruit and collect data from a purposive sample of 176 parents and their children, 4–11 years of age. Setting: A suburban school district in Michigan, USA. Methods: Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2005 scores were calculated from child food frequency data, and bivariate linear regression was used to test associations between the total HEI 2005 and fruit, total vegetable, solid fats and added sugars (SoFAAs) and saturated fat dietary components, as well as relative to the parent’s views of raising children. Multivariate linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between the HEI score and the parental views. Multinomial linear regression was used to test associations between physical activity and parental views on their children’s behaviours related to health outcomes. Results: Children whose parents had firm parenting views were significantly more likely to eat vegetables and foods and beverages that were lower in saturated fat and added sugars. Parental views on child behaviour were not associated with physical activity of children. Conclusion: Parental views on child behaviour and other influences on child dietary quality are complex. As a result, health care professionals including dieticians should use a multifaceted approach to assess how parental views shape guidance regarding children’s dietary quality and subsequent health.