Introduction:

In mental health, both food choices and eating habits in children are influenced by emotional, behavioural and social factors. From a psychoeducational perspective, socially symbolised consumption and analogical reasoning depend on the sociocultural context of learning mediated by the child's parents, teachers and peers. Therefore, modifying attitudes towards the consumption of a symbolised product requires evidence-based interventions.

Objective:

To outline the conceptual and methodological considerations for a psychoeducational intervention designed to promoting critical consumption of yoghurt in nine-year-old children.

Materials and methods:

This is a documentary review that synthesising information from secondary sources to delineate the methodological considerations of a psychoeducational intervention targeting nine-year-old children.

Results:

Both the conceptual and methodological considerations outlined in this study contributed to de development of a five-stage clinical trial protocol for a psychoeducational intervention so that children can a) understand the persuasive intent of advertising, b) become aware of social pressure from friends, and c) adopt a critical attitude towards yoghurt consumption.

Conclusions:

This paper synthesise the conceptual and methodological considerations involved in developing a clinical trial protocol for a psychoeducational intervention to promote critical consumption of yoghurt in children. The paper has methodological and ethical implications for improving the validity and reliability of results in experimental studies on behavioural changes in children.