To Have–or Not to Have–Another Child: Family Planning Attitudes,Intentions, and Behavior1

Two hundred eighty-two respondents, representing 141 married couples with either one child (N= 71 couples) or two children (N= 70 couples), were interviewed about their considerations and intentions regarding whether or not to have another child. Reports of their actual subsequent family planning behavior were obtained 12 months later via a mailed questionnaire. The data was gathered and analyzed according to Fishbein's attitude-behavior model which stipulates that the individual's actual behavior is a function of one's behavioral intention. This intention, in turn, is determined by two multiple factors: (a) the individual's beliefs about the consequences of performing the behavior multiplied by his/her evaluation of those consequences, and (b) one's normative beliefs multiplied by one's motivation to comply with the perceived norms. The results provided substantial support for the model; both behavioral intention and actual behavior were successfully predicted from the attitudinal and normative components of the model. It was also shown that the behavioral intention mediates the relationship between the model's attitudinal and normative components and actual behavior.     

Factors Explaining the Intention to Use Condoms Among Injecting Drug Users Participating in a Needle‐Exchange Program1

This study identified the psychosocial factors related to condom‐use intention, based on Triandis’ (1980) theory of interpersonal behavior, among 261 injection drug users participating in a needle‐exchange program. With regular partners (n= 139), condom‐use intention was explained by normative beliefs, self‐efficacy, length of relationship with last regular sexual partner, and taking oral contraceptives. Condom‐use intention with casual partners (n= 157) was also associated with self‐efficacy and normative beliefs, on top of cognitive dimension with attitudes and lending used needles. Neither the perception of being HIV‐positive, nor the habit of using a condom was associated with intention. It is thus suggested that interventions aimed at promoting condom use among this clientele be oriented toward the reinforcement of personal convictions as well as toward the development of competencies needed to overcome obstacles, since both relate to the intention to adopt this behavior.     

Integrating the Unified Theory and Stages of Change to Create Targeted Health Messages

This study investigates the effects of targeted health messages toward reducing fat consumption by applying the unified theory of behavior change ( Fishbein et al., 2001 ) and the stages of change model. In Study 1, affect and outcome expectancies significantly discriminated individuals within each stage of change. In Study 2, affect was more effective in changing intention for precontemplative individuals, whereas outcome expectancies were more effective in changing intention for contemplative individuals. Gender was a higher-order moderator of this relationship: Precontemplative males were more influenced by an affective message, whereas contemplative males were more affected by a cognitive message. For females, a cognitive message was more effective for precontemplative individuals. There were no differences between the messages for contemplative females.     

Predicting Child Restraint Device Use: A Comparison of Two Models1

This study's first objective was to apply Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the context of automobile child restraint device use to identify determinants of that behavior. A second objective was to test two specific hypotheses regarding the predictive role of perceived behavioral control: (a) Its inclusion should increase the proportion of variance already explained in intention by the attitudinal and normative components included in the theory of reasoned action; and (b) given the behavior under study, a model in which perception of behavioral control's influence on behavior is entirely mediated by intention, should fit the data. Subjects (N= 590) were parents driving with their 3- to 5-year-old children intercepted while entering or leaving parking lots of different public settings. The behavior of interest, child restraint device use, was rated by two independent observers. A self-report questionnaire assessing all constructs of Ajzen's model was given to the parent, who was instructed to return it by mail. Data were analyzed using LISREL VII. Results showed that perceived behavioral control and, to a lesser extent, attitude, emerged as the main determinants of behavioral intention which was itself predictive of child restraint device use. In addition, both hypotheses regarding the relation between perceived behavioral control on the one hand and intention and behavior, on the other, were supported. Discussion centered first on the mechanism through which perceived behavioral control exerts its influence, and second on the implications of the present results for the theory of reasoned action as well as for the theory of planned behavior.     

Predicting Undergraduate Condom Use with the Fishbein and Ajzen and the Triandis Attitude-Behavior Models: Implications for Public Health Interventions1

The present study used two social-psychological theories of attitude-behavior relationships to investigate condom use by college undergraduates. One purpose of the present research is to provide information for public health practitioners to better design theory-based interventions to reduce the incidence of STD's by increasing the use of condoms. Another purpose is to compare the relative usefulness of two attitude-behavior models in predicting condom use. The Fishbein and Ajzen theory of reasoned action (Ajzen, 1988; Fishbein & Ajzen. 1980) was compared with a version of Triandis' theory of attitude-behavior relations (Triandis, 1977). Of major interest was whether variables in this version of the Triandis model increased the explanatory power of the Fishbein and Ajzen model in the prediction of condom use intention and behavior. In addition, specific outcome beliefs and normative beliefs held by subjects were used to predict condom use. One hundred and ninety college undergraduates were given a questionnaire designed to measure the components of the two models. Three months after completing the questionnaire, subjects were contacted by phone to record the subject's frequency of condom use (if the subject reported having had intercourse) during the 3-month period between initial assessment and follow-up. In the prediction of intention to use a condom, results indicate that one variable from the Triandis model, personal normative beliefs, increases the explanatory power offered by the expectancy value and normative belief components of the Fishbein and Ajzen model. In the prediction of reported condom use during the 3-month follow-up period, two variables from the Triandis model—perceived susceptibility and AIDS fear—significantly increased the predictive power of the Fishbein and Ajzen model. Based on these results, the authors propose an alternative model to explain undergraduate condom use. The implications of these findings for public health interventions to encourage the use of condoms is discussed.     

Exploring the role of personal normative beliefs in the theory of reasoned action: The problem of discriminating between alternative path models

In the 1967 version of Fishbein's model of the attitude-behaviour relationship a distinction was drawn between personal and social normative beliefs. Personal normative beliefs were later removed from the model on the grounds that they act as an alternative measure of behavioural intention. It is argued that the existing literature does not support this hypothesis and data is presented which indicates that personal normative beliefs are not an alternative measure of behavioural intention. It is argued that personal normative beliefs can be reconceptualized as measuring a person's ideal behavioural intention; a variable which mediates the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms and intentions, Evidence is presented which supports this hypothesis, but it is further demonstrated that an alternative model can be fitted to the present data. It is argued that it is impossible to discriminate between these alternative models on the basis of path analytic techniques, and the implications that this finding has for attitude research are discussed.     

Get the Message: Targeting Beliefs to Develop Risk Reduction Intervention Messages for African American Adolescents

Risk reduction interventions that promote condom use, a vital component of most HIV prevention interventions, have been successful in increasing condom use among African American adolescents. Understanding theoretical components that lead to behavior change and selecting relevant risk reduction messages remain important considerations for targeting new interventions and tailoring existing interventions. The present study sought to (1) identify the most important theoretical determinants of condom use intention in African American adolescent males and females, separately, using the integrative model of behavior prediction, and (2) identify underlying beliefs within the determinants that were good candidates for message development in similar interventions. Using 446 African American adolescents, multi‐group SEM indicated that the gender‐specific IM exhibited a better fit than the overall model. Specifically, the IM had a stronger capacity for predicting condom use intention and condom use behavior for adolescent boys. Using a specific criteria for message selection, specific condom use beliefs were discussed as potential candidate messages for both African American males and females.     

Factors in the Use of Oral Contraceptives by Young Women

This study examined the use of oral contraceptives in a sample of sexually active college women. The analytic approach employed was based on Fishbein's model for the prediction of behavior, which emphasizes perceived consequences and normative influences. It was found that each of these factors was significantly related to use of oral contraception, and that a stronger relationship was obtained when both components were combined. Results suggested that nonusers are more Likely to associate oral contraception with unhealthful consequences than are users, and that users believe employment of this method enhances their sexual satisfaction. It was also suggested that the opinions of these young women's partners and close friends, but not of their parents, are reflected in respondents' use of the pill. These results were compared with earlier findings on the correlates of intentions to use oral contraceptives, and applied implications were discussed.     

Cross-Cultural Testing of Three Social Cognitive Theories: An Application to Condom Use1

The aim of this study was to test the cross-cultural validity of Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action, Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, and Triandis' theory of interpersonal behavior and to apply them to understanding the intention to use a condom with a new partner in three ethnocultural communities: Latin American, English-speaking Caribbean, and South Asian. All respondents were recruited from multiple ethnocultural-venues using predetermined sampling frames and quotas for each community. The results indicated that the three theories have cross-cultural validity, but the theories of Ajzen and Triandis performed better than the theory of Fishbein and Ajzen. It is recommended that role beliefs and moral norm (personal normative belief) be added to Ajzen's model to maximize its predictive and explanatory ability.     

The Fishbein and Ajzen Theory of Reasoned Action Applied to Contraceptive Behavior: Model Variants and Meaningfulness1

Suggested modifications of the theory of reasoned action, which conceptualize the functional operation of the attitudinal and normative components in intention formation as separate, separate but contingent, and inseparable, are discussed. The model structures are examined with regard to the underlying psychological assumptions (psychological meaningfulness) and with regard to the required scale levels for the model variables, so that the results of model tests are invariant under the admissible scale transformations (formal meaningfulness). Using a procedure that combines “optimal scaling” with hierarchical regression analysis, the model variants are tested for women's (n= 89) and men's (n= 89) intentions to use contraceptive methods (pill, intrauterine device, condom, and natural methods) that require the model variables to be measured on interval scales. The results strongly favored the theory of reasoned action above the other model variants. Only for the subjective norm model was a better model fit found for a belief-only model compared to the original product-sum model. Gender differences were found with regard to the salient belief sets and the explanatory power of the normative model component.     

Range Model of Judgments

Judgments of unfamiliar objects are likely to take the psychological form of a range rather than a precise point estimate as is commonly assumed in consumer research. A range model of attitude judgments is formulated to investigate attitude shifts after exposure to a persuasive message. In Study 1, the message was not only shown to affect consumers’ point‐estimate judgments but also their range judgments about the attribute targeted by the information. A message consistent with the consumer's pretrial attitude caused the range to narrow, and a message that was inconsistent with the consumer's pretrial attitude caused the range to widen asymmetrically in the direction of the message. In Study 2, judgment ranges were shown to have psychological validity in that a model based on whether the believed and desired judgment ranges overlap predicted purchase intention better than the conventional model that is based on differences in point estimates.     

The stages-of-change approach for prosocial behavior: Message tailoring to encourage blood donation

This research applied the Trans-Theoretical Model and the Construal Level Theory to framing messages for blood donation. People can be at different degrees of readiness for blood donation and are, therefore, dispersed into discrete stages of change. These stages of change correspond to varying psychological distances that define the extent to which a person's thinking on the suggested behavior is abstract (high construal level) or concrete (low construal level). Differences in psychological distance thus affect whether individuals focus on how easy it is to donate blood (feasibility) or on why it is important to donate blood (desirability) in the ad message. This research conducted two studies using a 2 (types of message: feasibility vs. desirability—manipulated) × 3 (stages of change: pre-contemplation vs. contemplation/preparation vs. action/maintenance—measured) between-subject, randomly assigned factorial design experiment. The results of both studies showed that for individuals in the pre-contemplation stage, desirability, rather than feasibility, messages were more likely to produce favorable attitudes toward the ad, its sponsoring organization, and blood donation behavior itself, whereas the opposite was true for those in the action/maintenance stage. Those differences were weakened or not observed for those in the contemplation/preparation stage. These patterns of interaction were not replicated for behavioral intention. Collectively, these findings suggest that tailoring a message according to the intended audience's stage of change should promote positive attitudes for blood donation. Meanwhile, future research is needed to bridge the attitude-behavior gap when it comes to blood donation.     

Practice and Persuasive Frame: Effects on Beliefs,Intention, and Performance of a Cancer Self-Examination1

Many behaviors are performed less frequently than intended because they require knowledge and skill to overcome behavioral barriers. This experiment tested effects of two factors, direct experience and message frame, that were hypothesized to affect men's intention to perform the testicle self-exam for cancer (TSE) and their actual exam performance, in part by affecting their knowledge and beliefs about overcoming TSE performance barriers. Men's experience performing the TSE on a life-like model and the frame (negative, positive, or neutral) of the recommendation promoting the exam were manipulated factorially. Consistent with prediction, men who practiced (vs. did not practice) the self-exam: (a) endorsed stronger beliefs about behavior-specific knowledge (e.g., ability to imagine a lump), (b) held more positive intention, and (c) translated that intention more consistently into self-reported action, in part because their behavior-specific knowledge increased their tendency to act on their intention. Consistent with action phase theory (Gollwitzer, 1990), intention related more strongly to behavior-specific beliefs than to general, long-term beliefs, and more strongly than attitude related to behavior-specific beliefs. These findings have practical and theoretical implications for promoting healthful and other intended behaviors.     

Test of a brief theory of planned behaviour‐based intervention to promote adolescent safe sex intentions

The present study tested a brief (303 word) intervention designed to change attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control regarding a safe sex behaviour in a sample of 16‐ to 18‐year‐olds. Participants (N = 288) were randomized to receive either an experimental intervention or a control (knowledge only) intervention and completed measures of their reactions to the stimuli as well as pre‐ and post‐test measures of theory of planned behaviour variables. The experimental intervention significantly increased message processing (mean between‐group difference = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.40, 1.06; Cohen's d = .52), message acceptance (mean between‐group difference = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.57, 1.07; Cohen's d = .77), subjective norm (adjusted Mean between‐group difference = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.26, 0.81; Cohen's d = .37; mean within‐group difference for intervention condition = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.36, 0.81; Cohen's d = .38) and intention (adjusted Mean between‐group difference = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.53; Cohen's d = .20; mean within‐group difference for intervention condition = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.75; Cohen's d = .31), but not attitude or perceived behavioural control. The effects of the experimental intervention on intention were mediated solely through subjective norm. The present findings: (a) compare favourably in terms of the effect sizes reported in previous research in this area (mean Cohen's d for within‐group difference for intervention conditions = .009 and .09, for norms and intention, respectively, see Albarracín et al. (2003) ), (b) imply that subjective norms are causally related to intentions, and (c) suggest that interventions designed to change subjective norms (as opposed to communication of risks and fear appeals) might ultimately be effective in changing behaviour.     

The ontogeny of intent‐based normative judgments

When evaluating norm transgressions, children begin to show some sensitivity to the agent's intentionality around preschool age. However, the specific developmental trajectories of different forms of such intent‐based judgments and their cognitive underpinnings are still largely unclear. The current studies, therefore, systematically investigated the development of intent‐based normative judgments as a function of two crucial factors: (a) the type of the agent's mental state underlying a normative transgression, and (b) the type of norm transgressed (moral versus conventional). In Study 1, 5‐ and 7‐year‐old children as well as adults were presented with vignettes in which an agent transgressed either a moral or a conventional norm. Crucially, she did so either intentionally, accidentally (not intentionally at all) or unknowingly (intentionally, yet based on a false belief regarding the outcome). The results revealed two asymmetries in children's intent‐based judgments. First, all age groups showed greater sensitivity to mental state information for moral compared to conventional transgressions. Second, children's (but not adults') normative judgments were more sensitive to the agent's intention than to her belief. Two subsequent studies investigated this asymmetry in children more closely and found evidence that it is based on performance factors: children are able in principle to take into account an agent's false belief in much the same way as her intentions, yet do not make belief‐based judgments in many existing tasks (like that of Study 1) due to their inferential complexity. Taken together, these findings contribute to a more systematic understanding of the development of intent‐based normative judgment.     

Normative predictions of collectivist‐individualist intentions and behaviour of Indians

Five hundred and thirty‐four college students, drawn from five distantly located cities in India that varied in affluence and infrastructural facilities, participated in a study designed to understand their normative predictions about people's responses to 20 situations. The responses consisted of five combinations: collectivist behaviour with collectivist intention (CC), individualist behaviour with individualist intention (II), collectivist behaviour with individualist intention to behave subsequently in an individualist way or to serve individualist intention (CI), individualist behaviour with collectivist intention to behave subsequently in a collectivist way or to serve a collectivist purpose (IC), and a mix of collectivist and individualist intention and behaviour (C&I). The findings indicated that the situations involving family members were reported to induce collectivism in behaviour as well as intentions. However, compelling personal needs were believed to lead to serve individualist interests, but by adopting collectivist behaviour. Further, collectives, compared to individuals, were reported to behave in collectivist way. Even when collectives behaved in individualist fashion, the ultimate aim was conjectured to serve a collectivist purpose. Females, like males, were perceived to meet compelling individual needs by resorting to collectivist behaviour. In less compelling matters that are less salient to their gender role, females were reported to remain collectivist in their behaviour as well as intentions. More affluent places with better infrastructure are believed to manifest either a mix of collectivist and individualist behaviour and intentions or a response pattern that enables individualist interests to be served through collectivist behaviour. A clear individualist pattern of behaviour and intention was rarely predicted to occur. The changing socioeconomic scenario has probably induced a shift towards cultivating individualist intentions that are still realized through collectivist behaviour. With the rate of change accelerating further, individualism is likely to get stronger, particularly in more affluent areas with better infrastructure. However, the combinations of collectivist and individualist behaviour and intentions are likely to remain complex.     

Taiwanese adolescents' intention model of visiting Internet cafés.

This study intended to construct an intention model of visiting Internet cafés. Four hundred eighty-three Taiwanese high school students were surveyed during March 2002. The results indicated that intention increased with positive attitude toward visiting Internet cafés, the intention was only rarely affected by significant others, intention strengthened with the quantity of resources and skills perceived, and past behavior negatively influenced the intention. Three conclusions were drawn: (a) The proposed model can effectively predict adolescent intention to visit Internet cafés. (b) Past behavior was the main predictor of intention. (3) In terms of intention to visit Internet cafés, there is a strengthening of individualism and a weakening of normative influences. Finally, suggestions and recommendations were made for practice and future research.     

Toward an Understanding of Family Planning Behaviors: An Initial Investigation1

Based on a theoretical model developed by Fishbein (1972), a questionnaire was administered to 73 female college students to test the hypotheses that (1) behavioral intention (BI) to use birth control pills is a function of (a) one's attitude toward the act (A-act) of using birth control pills and/or (b) one's normative beliefs weighted by one's motivation to comply with those perceived norms (ΣNB(Mc)); and (2) A-act of using birth control pills is a function of (or is highly correlated with) the sum of one's beliefs about the consequences of using birth control pills times the evaluation of those beliefs (ΣBiai). In support of the hypotheses, (1) the multiple correlation between the two components of the model and BI was significant (R= 335, p < .01); and (2) the correlation between XBiui and A-act was significant (r= .792, p < .01).     

Ambivalence, communication and past use: understanding what influences women's intentions to use contraceptives

Unintended pregnancy among women in the 18-30 age group is a public health concern. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) provides a framework for exploring how women's perceptions of threat, efficacy, and fear influence intentions to use contraceptives. Past use and communication with best friends and partners were also considered. A telephone survey of 18-30-year-old women (N = 599) was completed. After univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted, the variables were entered into a hierarchal, multi-variate linear regression with three steps consistent with the EPPM to predict behavioral intention. The first step included the demographic variables of relationship status and income. The constructs for the EPPM were entered into step 2. Step 3 contained the fear measure. The model for the third step was significant, F(10,471) = 36.40, p < 0.001 and the variance explained by this complete model was 0.42. Results suggest that perceived severity of the consequences of an unintended pregnancy (p < 0.01), communication with friends (p < 0.01) and last sexual partner (p < 0.05), relationship status (p < 0.01), and past use (p < 0.001) were associated with women's intentions to use contraceptives. A woman's perception of the severity was related to her intention to use contraceptives. Half of the women (50.3%) reported ambivalence about the severity of an unintended pregnancy. In our study, talking with their last sexual partner had a positive effect on intentions to use contraceptives, while talking with friends influenced intentions in a negative direction. These results reconfirm the need for public health practitioners and health care providers to consider level of ambivalence toward unintended pregnancy, communication with partner, and relationship status when trying to improve women's contraceptive behaviors. Implications for effective communication interventions are discussed.