Attitudes and Purchase Intentions Toward Food Made From Insects – Measurement Model

Abstract

The Attitudes and Purchase Intentions Toward Food Made From Insects—Measurement Model (Mikulec et al., 2024) is a specialized 34-item instrument developed to quantify consumer attitudes and future buying intentions concerning food products incorporating insect ingredients. The model was conceptualized within the context of increasing global interest in sustainable food sources, specifically focusing on how consumer behavior is influenced by factors such as health, environment, and Food Neophobia.

The scale was initially validated using a purposeful sample of university students in Poland. It integrates items derived from existing psychological and marketing studies, covering six core variables related to novel food attributes and general environmental and health perspectives. Rigorous psychometric testing, including internal consistency measures using Cronbach’s alpha and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), confirmed its reliability and structural validity as a robust measure of acceptance toward insect-based foods.

Keywords

Entomophagy, Consumer Attitudes, Purchase Intentions, Novel Food, Food Neophobia, Edible Insects, Sustainability, Psychometric Model, Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Authors

Mikulec, Anna T., Platta, Anna M., Radzymińska, Monika, Ruszkowska, Millena, Mikulec, Karolina, Suwała, Grzegorz, Kowalski, Stanisław, Kowalczewski, Przemysław Łukasz, Nowicki, Marcin.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the measurement model is to systematically gauge consumer acceptance, specifically focusing on attitudes and anticipated behavior (Purchase Intentions) toward food products containing insect-derived ingredients. This assessment is critical for stakeholders involved in food innovation, marketing, and sustainable development.

The scale provides essential insights into the psychological barriers and motivational factors that influence the adoption of novel food sources, helping researchers and industry professionals understand the necessary steps for successful market introduction of entomophagy-related products.

Construct

The model is designed to capture the multifaceted psychological and behavioral dimensions underlying the acceptance of insect-based foods. It operationalizes several key constructs, including general health and environmental consciousness, specific reactions to novel foods, and direct evaluations of insect-derived products.

The core constructs measured by the model are:

• Health Attitudes (HA): Reflecting the importance placed on natural and quality attributes of food.
• Environmental Attitudes (EA): Measuring concern for the environmental impact of food production.
• Attitude Towards Novel Food (NF): Assessing the general openness or resistance (including Food Neophobia) to new and unfamiliar foods.
• Attributes of Novel Food: Analyzing specific perceptions of novel food products related to:
  • Organoleptic traits (CA1)
  • Health quality (CA2)
  • Functional traits (CA3)
• Attitudes Towards Food Made from Insects (ATT): Direct evaluative judgment of the idea of buying insect-based foods.
• Intention to Purchase Food Made from Insects (PI): Behavioral likelihood of acquiring insect-based products in the future.

Validity

The structural validity of the measurement model was primarily established through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). This statistical procedure was employed to confirm that the 34 items mapped cleanly onto the hypothesized underlying constructs (factors).

The EFA process refined the scale by identifying and removing items that did not adequately correlate with their intended factors, specifically items 3.8, 3.9, and 3.10 from the Novel Food (NF) scale. After this refinement, the remaining items demonstrated strong factor loadings, ranging consistently between 0.65 and 0.97. Furthermore, the overall Model Fit indices confirmed the robust validity of the measurement structure, with RMSEA values not exceeding 0.06, and both the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) achieving a perfect score of 1.0.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for all constituent scales within the model. The results indicate high reliability across the entire instrument. The calculated alpha values ranged from 0.82 to 0.94, confirming that the items within each subscale consistently measure the same underlying construct.

The strong reliability scores support the use of this instrument in research settings, ensuring that the measurement of consumer attitudes and purchase intentions toward insect-based food products is stable and dependable.

Factor Analysis

The study utilized Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) as the primary method for validating the structure of the measurement model. The goal was to ensure dimensional integrity and confirm the theoretical grouping of the 34 items into the six specified variables (HA, EA, NF, CA, ATT, PI).

During the EFA process, three items related to the Attitude Towards Novel Food (NF) scale were identified as outliers and subsequently removed to improve the statistical Model Fit and internal consistency. The final factor solution demonstrated excellent fit statistics (CFI = 1, TLI = 1, RMSEA < 0.06), confirming that the retained structure is empirically sound for measuring consumer perceptions of novel foods.

Instrument

Test Type: Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Electronic

Language Available: Polish (Original administration language)

Population Group: Consumers, specifically university students.

Age Group: Young Adults

Population Details: Purposeful sample of university students in Poland.

Test Methodology: Assessment of reliability and validity through internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and measurement modeling.

Keywords

Entomophagy, Likert scale, Consumer Acceptance, Food Innovation, Model Fit Indices, Poland, University Students, Sustainability Attitudes.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Anna T. Mikulec: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2737-5967; Millena Ruszkowska: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4488-1087; Grzegorz Suwała: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7857-2282; Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0153-4624; Marcin Nowicki: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2655-5464

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and published in 2024. Specific information regarding permissions or usage fees is subject to the licensing terms of the original publication in PLoS ONE, which operates under an open-access model.

Test Year: 2024

Reference’s

Mikulec, A. T., Platta, A. M., Radzymińska, M., Ruszkowska, M., Mikulec, K., Suwała, G., Kowalski, S., Kowalczewski, P. Ł., & Nowicki, M. (2024). Attitudes and purchase intentions of Polish university students towards food made from insects—A modelling approach. PLoS ONE, 19(3), Article e0300871. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300871

Additional sources cited in the scale item development:

• Kornher et al. (2019)
• Verbeke (2015)
• Roberts (1996)
• Modlinska (2021)
• Pliner and Hobden (1992)
• Wang et al. (2013)
• Lee et al. (2010)

Items of the Attitudes and Purchase Intentions Toward Food Made From Insects–Measurement Model

This section outlines the variables and their corresponding measuring items used to assess attitudes and purchase intentions toward food made from insects. The variables are: Health Attitudes (HA), Environmental Attitudes (EA), Attitude Towards Novel Food (NF), Attributes of Novel Food-Organoleptic Traits (CA1), Attributes of Novel Food-Health Quality (CA2), Attributes of Novel Food-Functional Traits (CA3), Attitudes Towards Food Made From Insects (ATT), and Intention to Purchase Food Made From Insects (PI).

Variables and Measuring Items

The following items are used to measure each variable:

1. Health Attitudes (HA)

• 1.1. The natural character of food products is an important quality attribute to me.

• 1.2. I try to buy organic food products.

• 1.3. I try to avoid food products containing food additives.

• 1.4. The quality certificate of purchased food is important to me.

• 1.5. The natural character of a production method is important to me.
  Source: Kornher et al. (2019)

2. Environmental Attitudes (EA)

• 2.1. When buying food, I try to pay attention to the fact how its production affects the natural environment.

• 2.2. I try to avoid food products, whose production has adverse effects on the natural environment.

• 2.3. I am interested in the impact of food production on the natural environment.
  Source: Verbeke (2015) and Roberts (1996); Modlinska (2021)

3. Attitude Towards Novel Food (NF)

• 3.1. I am constantly trying new and different foods.

• 3.2. I do not trust new, unknown foods.

• 3.3. I do not try unknown foods.

• 3.4. I like foods from various national cuisines (ethnic food).

• 3.5. During parties/when I am out, I enjoy trying new foods.

• 3.6. I eat almost everything.

• 3.7. I like trying foods that are new to me.

• 3.8. The so-called "healthy food" looks too weird for me to eat.

• 3.9. I am afraid to eat something I have not eaten before.

• 3.10. I am very picky about the food I eat.
  Source: Pliner and Hobden (1992)

4. Attributes of Novel Food – Organoleptic Traits (CA1)

• 4.1. Attractive taste.

• 4.2. Attractive aroma.

• 4.3. Attractive appearance.
  Source: Kornher et al. (2019)

5. Attributes of Novel Food – Health Quality (CA2)

• 4.4. High nutritional value.

• 4.5. Health claims.

• 4.6. Nutritional claims.

6. Attributes of Novel Food – Functional Traits (CA3)

• 4.7. Various assortment and availability in retail.

• 4.8. Package size and attractiveness.

• 4.9. Convenience of use.

• 4.10. Availability of recipes on blogs and websites.

7. Attitudes Towards Food Made From Insects (ATT)

• 5.1. I find buying novel food containing insects a good idea.

• 5.2. I find buying novel food containing insects a wise choice.

• 5.3. I like the idea of buying novel, innovative food containing insects.

• 5.4. Buying novel, innovative food containing insects would be nice.
  Source: Wang et al. (2013)

8. Intention to Purchase Food Made From Insects (PI)

• 6.1. I would try dishes made from insects or with insect ingredients if I had the opportunity.

• 6.2. I am interested in eating dishes or food/food products made from insects in the near future.

• 6.3. If a "novel innovative food" appears on the market containing edible insects (fresh, frozen, dried, powdered, e.g., flour), which has such attributes as: reduction of CO2 emissions, nutritional claims, health claims, attractive taste, and high nutritional value I would be willing to buy it.

• 6.4. I am willing to buy new food containing edible insects.

• 6.5. I will make an effort to buy foods containing insect protein in the near future.
  Source: Kornher et al. (2019); Lee et al. (2010)

Scale

Respondents express their level of approval or disapproval of the items listed using a 5-point Likert scale as described in the table below:

Value	Description
1	Definitely No
2	No
3	I do not know, I have no opinion
4	Yes
5	Definitely Yes

Note: Respondents express their level of approval or disapproval of the items listed using a 5-point Likert scale where the values 1,2 mean: definitely no, no; value 3 denotes: I do not know, I have no opinion; and values 4,5 correspond to answers: yes, definitely yes.