Self-Efficacy and Behavioral Enactment: The Application of Schwarzer's Health Action Process Approach to the Prediction of Low-Risk, Single-Occasion Drinking

Reported here is a preliminary study of the applicability of Schwarzer's (1992) health action process approach (HAPA) to low-risk, single-occasion drinking (LRSOD). The hypothesis tested is that a decision to act coupled with cognitive activities in the planning and preparation stages will predict health behavior change. Participants were 128 female undergraduate students. Analysis showed that the HAPA constructs coupled with past drinking frequency accounted for 29% of the variance in drinking behavior at follow-up ( p < .0001), thereby supporting Schwarzer's hypothesis in relation to LRSOD. The implications of the study findings for extending the current utility of social cognition models to predict and explain health behavior are discussed.