Parental Autonomy Support Mediates Nutritional Literacy and Eating Behavior Among Filipino Junior High Students

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of parental autonomy support on the relationship between nutritional literacy and eating behavior among 335 junior high school students enrolled in Davao City. The respondents were identified through stratified random sampling. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Pearson r-correlation, and path analysis were utilized to analyze the data and examine the mediating effect of parental autonomy support. A quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed using correlational and mediation analysis. Results indicated that students demonstrated high levels of nutritional literacy, positive eating behavior, and parental autonomy support. The findings revealed a significantly low positive relationship among nutritional literacy, parental autonomy support, and eating behavior. Results further indicated partial mediation, showing that nutritional literacy directly influenced eating behavior, and that parental autonomy support improved this relationship. These results provided local evidence that parental autonomy support facilitated the translation of nutritional literacy into healthy eating behaviors. The findings contribute to the growing research in educational and health research by emphasizing the importance of fostering autonomy-supportive parenting alongside school-based nutrition education to promote healthier eating behaviors among adolescents.