Determinants of household fish consumption in Namibia: a structural equation modelling approach

This study used a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to investigate the relationships between sociodemographic characteristics (SDC), economic factors (EF), and fish consumption magnitude (CM) to identify the determinants of household fish consumption behaviour in Namibia. Data were collected from 5,299 respondents across Namibia’s 14 regions, using the SEM framework to assess the measurement and structural models. The models demonstrated an acceptable fit, with fit indices such as the Comparative Fit Index (CFI = 0.945), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI = 0.910), and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR = 0.055), meeting established thresholds. The measurement model confirmed strong relationships between observed variables and their respective latent constructs, with all factor loadings being statistically significant ( p &amp;lt; 0.001). Notably, the number of fish species consumed (NSC) exhibited a negative relationship with fish CM, highlighting variations in consumption behaviour. The structural model revealed that SDC significantly predicted economic factors (EF) <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo> <mml:mi>β</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.703</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.001</mml:mn> <mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> and had a direct positive effect on fish CM ( β = 0.140, p = 0.013). However, EF negatively influenced CM ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>β</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.162</mml:mn> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mspace width="0.25em"/> <mml:mi>p</mml:mi> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.011</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ), suggesting that household size and marital status changes may reduce fish consumption. Mediation analysis further indicated that EF partially mediates the relationship between SDC and CM, with a significant indirect effect ( β = −0.114, p = 0.018). The findings underscore the dual role of sociodemographic factors in shaping fish consumption, both directly and through their influence on economic conditions. These results are crucial for policymakers and stakeholders promoting fish consumption in Namibia.