A Fishbein-Ajzen model of intention to work following childbirth

This research identifies factors which influence college women's intention to work during the first 3 years following childbirth. It uses a model, derived from M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen (1975, Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior, Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley) as modified by P. M. Bentler and G. Speckart (1979, Psychological Review, 86, 452–464), which proposes that intentions are a function of own work experience, vicarious experience with a working mother, subjective normative pressure, and attitudes. Data collected via a mailed questionnaire from 202 white women and analyzed using maximum likelihood estimation of structural equation parameters supported the fit of the model. Attitudes had the strongest influence on intentions.     

Returning to Work Following Childbirth: The Relationship Between Intentions and Behavior

College women's intentions to return to work following childbirth were compared to behavior 10 years later. Using an Ajzen-Fishbein model, college intentions were significantly related to how soon a mother returned to work after the birth of her first child. The amount of variance explained was significant for intentions and behavior. College intentions were influenced by perceived consequences, approval of significant referents, and personal control. Return to work was predicted by intention to do so, even though the behavior occurred an average of seven years after the intention was declared. This behavior was more likely to occur among those who had a sense of personal control.