Financial and Demographic Factors Associated with Cooking Self-Efficacy among College Students from Three Minority Groups

Background: There are many socio-environmental factors that can limit cooking self-efficacy among university students, where minorities are usually neglected. Purpose: To identify the dynamics of income source and money expenditure with cooking self-efficacy of three university minority groups. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, recruitment was between October and November 2019, via online survey through Qualtrics platform. A total of 2817 participants completed the survey online which provided data from cooking self-efficacy (20 points scale), money expenditure and financial issues. Results: An average of 13.5 was found as cooking self-efficacy. Four of the independent variables: first generation, internationals, age, and employment status show significative relationship (<0.01) with cooking self-efficacy. Discussion: This study supports the importance of prioritizing university minority groups, helping to understand their financial support and how they distribute it when managing and prioritizing their finances. Moreover, each group faces different limitations in terms of what the construction of these skills encompasses. Translation to Health Education Practice: The findings present in this study are significant for health education specialist focused on identifying factors that impact priority populations.