Determinants of exercise intention and behavior during and after phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

Objective: To evaluate the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a framework for understanding exercise motivation during and after Phase 2 cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Design and Participants: Patients (57 men and 24 women) completed a TPB questionnaire that included attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and exercise intentions pre- and post-Phase 2 CR. Results: During Phase 2 CR, regression analyses indicated that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) explained 38% of the variance in exercise intention while intention explained 23% of the variance in exercise adherence. At postrehabilitation follow-up, attitudes, subjective norm, and PBC explained 51 % of the variance in exercise intention while intention explained 23% of the variance in exercise adherence. Conclusion: The TPB is a useful framework for understanding exercise intentions and behavior both during and after Phase 2 CR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the theory of planned behavior to predict leisure time physical activity among people with chronic kidney disease.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for explaining and predicting leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in the chronic kidney disease population. Study Design: Prospective correlational design. Participants: Eighty men (n=52) and women (n=28) with chronic kidney disease (mean serum creatinine=310.55 [±148.75] μmol/L). Method: Baseline interview assessing attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention to engage in LTPA. Telephone interview 1 week later assessing frequency and intensity of LTPA. Results: Perceived behavioral control (β=.69) but not attitude (β=.17) or subjective norm (β=.02) was associated with intention to engage in LTPA. Intention (β=.53) but not perceived behavioral control (β=.18) predicted LTPA. Conclusion: These findings provide partial support for the utility of the TPB for explaining LTPA among people with chronic kidney disease. Additional research is required to determine if targeting perceived behavioral control may be an effective means for increasing LTPA in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drivers' compliance with speed limits: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

The theory of planned behavior (TPB; I. Ajzen, 1985) was applied to drivers' compliance with speed limits. Questionnaire data were collected for 598 drivers at 2 time points separated by 3 months. TPB variables, demographic information, and self-reported prior behavior were measured at Time 1, and self-reported subsequent behavior was measured at Time 2. In line with the TPB, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control were positively associated with behavioral intention, and intention and perceived control were positively associated with subsequent behavior. TPB variables mediated the effects of age and gender on behavior. Prior behavior was found to moderate the perceived control-intention and perceived control-subsequent behavior relationships. Practical implications of the findings for road safety and possible avenues for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding pregnant women's decision making concerning prenatal screening.

Objective: This study is aimed at enhancing understanding prenatal screening decision making through testing a hypothesized decision model based on decision theory and health behavior theory. Design: We obtained questionnaires from 1,666 pregnant women who were offered prenatal screening for Down's syndrome. Path analysis (using LISREL) resulted in a final model with reasonable model fit, which was verified by split-sample cross-validation. Main outcome measures: These included perceived probability, perceived severity, attitude toward termination, response efficacy, attitude toward prenatal screening, subjective norm, child-related anxiety, and intention to undergo prenatal screening. Results: Attitude toward termination of pregnancy, perceived test efficacy, and subjective norm regarding the desirability of having prenatal screening determined a woman's attitude toward having a prenatal test. Anxiety was influenced by perceived risk and perceived severity of having a child with Down's syndrome, and by subjective norm, but this appeared to be a weak predictor of intention to test. Pregnant women with a positive attitude toward prenatal screening, and who perceived a subjective norm in favor of undergoing prenatal screening, showed a greater intention to have prenatal screening done. Conclusion: These findings suggest that more attention should be paid toward the values and social context of pregnant women during the counseling process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why should I be left behind? Employees’ perceived relative deprivation and participation in development activities.

Research on participation in development activities (PDA) has traditionally been examined from an advantage perspective: Employees engage in development activities out of a desire to enhance current and future advantages. In this study, the author examined PDA from a disadvantage perspective, which suggests that employees participate in development activities out of a desire to redress perceived disadvantages. Perceived individual relative deprivation was hypothesized to relate to PDA through intention to participate and counterfactual beliefs, and perceived behavioral control was proposed to interact with intention to participate in relating to development behaviors. In a sample of 144 employees from 27 companies in Ghana, an emerging economy, moderated structural equation modeling results confirm some of the hypotheses. Implications for PDA research and human resource management are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plant extracts from stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), an antirheumatic remedy, inhibit the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB

A sample of 84 smokers attending health promotion clinics in a primary care setting completed questionnaires that assessed the main constructs of the theory of planned behavior, perceived susceptibility, and past cessation attempts. Regression analyses revealed that intention to quit smoking was primarily predicted by perceived behavioral control and perceived susceptibility. At 6-month follow-up, the making of a quit attempt was predicted by intention and the number of previous quit attempts, whereas the length of the quit attempt was predicted solely by the length of the longest recent quit attempt. The results suggest that interventions should focus on perceptions of susceptibility and control to increase smokers' motivation to quit. However, further work is required to identify the social cognitive variables that ensure that initial quit attempts are translated into longer term abstinence.     

The theory of planned behavior and smoking cessation.

A sample of 84 smokers attending health promotion clinics in a primary care setting completed questionnaires that assessed the main constructs of the theory of planned behavior, perceived susceptibility, and past cessation attempts. Regression analyses revealed that intention to quit smoking was primarily predicted by perceived behavioral control and perceived susceptibility. At 6-month follow-up, the making of a quit attempt was predicted by intention and the number of previous quit attempts, whereas the length of the quit attempt was predicted solely by the length of the longest recent quit attempt. The results suggest that interventions should focus on perceptions of susceptibility and control to increase smokers' motivation to quit. However, further work is required to identify the social cognitive variables that ensure that initial quit attempts are translated into longer term abstinence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes, intentions, and behavior: A test of some key hypotheses.

Employed a causal modeling methodology to test hypotheses concerning the attitude–behavior relation in 157 undergraduates, faculty, and staff. Using measures of actual blood donation behavior at 2 points in time as criteria, it was found that attitudes influenced behavior but did so in an indirect manner only through their impact on intentions. Further, the attitude–intention relationship was stronger when expectancy-value attitude measures were used as predictors than when semantic differential measures were employed. However, for both attitudinal operationalizations, the attitude–intention relationship was attenuated when the extent of past behavior was included as an explanatory variable. Similarly, past behavior lessened the impact of intentions on behavior. With respect to the organization of attitude, the expectancy-value attitude occurred as a complex, multidimensional representation, whereas the semantic differential attitude existed as a unidimensional response. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extending overjustification: The effect of perceived reward-giver intention on response to rewards.

The perceived intention model incorporates a new moderator, beliefs about reward-giver intention, into the overjustification paradigm. In 2 simulated shopping studies featuring products paired with promotional rewards, consumers who believed the marketer was promotion focused (reward used to encourage purchase) reported lower purchase intentions and brand attitudes for promoted products after promotion, whereas,consumers who believed the marketer was reward focused (promotion used to distribute the reward) showed no attitude change. Promotion-focus beliefs lowered attitudes by heightening the contingency between the promotion and purchase and thereby increasing the perceived causal role of the reward. This effect was contingent on initial behavior—postpromotion attitude change occurred for consumers who actively engaged in product decisions but not for consumers who passively observed the choice sets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of intention to reduce stroke risk among people at risk of stroke: An application of an extended health belief model.

Purpose: To examine predictors of intention to reduce stroke risk in a sample of at risk individuals through the application of an expanded Health Belief Model. Research Method: Predictors included stroke knowledge, demographic variables, beliefs about stroke, and measures of subjective norm and self-efficacy. The dependent variable was intention to reduce stroke risk. Of the 276 surveys distributed to bowling clubs, senior citizens clubs or retirement villages, 101 surveys were returned. Data from 76 of these respondents were used for analysis. Results: With regard to exercise intention, a pattern of significant correlations between HBM variables, subjective norm, and self-efficacy was observed. Results of multiple hierarchical regression analyses showed that perceived benefits of undertaking exercise and self-efficacy in relation exercise were the two most important determinants of exercise intentions. Conclusions: Findings suggest that health beliefs may play an important role in stroke prevention. Practice Implications: Stroke education and prevention programs that selectively target beliefs about the perceived benefits of, and self-efficacy related to, exercise to reduce stroke risk may prove most efficacious. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variables that moderate the attitude–behavior relation: Results of a longitudinal survey.

Hypothesized several factors that moderate the attitude–behavior relation: (a) the behavioral sequence that must be successfully completed prior to the occurrence of the behavior, (b) the time interval between the measurement of attitudes and behavior, (c) attitude change, (d) the respondent's educational level, and (e) the degree of correspondence between attitudinal and behavioral variables. The behaviors investigated were having a child and using oral contraceptives. A stratified random sample of 244 married women in a midwestern urban area was studied during a 3-wave, 2-yr longitudinal study. Selection of attitudinal and belief measures was guided by the M. Fishbein (1967) model of behavior intentions. Consistent with the hypotheses, the relations between behavior and both intention and the model's attitudinal and normative components were substantially attenuated by (a) events in the behavioral sequence not under the volitional control of the actor, (b) an increase in the time interval between the measurement of attitudes and behavior from 1 to 2 yrs, and (c) changes in the model's attitudinal and normative components during the 1st yr. The respondent's educational level did not affect attitude–behavior consistency. The attitude–behavior correlation increased significantly as the degree of correspondence between the 2 variables increased. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal-fetal disease information as a source of exercise motivation during pregnancy.

Objective: A Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) framework was used to examine whether information about the role of exercise in preventing maternal-fetal disease served as a meaningful source of exercise motivation. Design: Pregnant women (n = 208) were randomly assigned into one of three conditions: PMT, attention control, and noncontact control. Women in the PMT group read a brochure about the benefits of exercise during pregnancy incorporating the major components of PMT; perceived vulnerability (PV), perceived severity (PS), response efficacy (RE), and self-efficacy (SE). Participants in the attention-control condition read a brochure about diet. Following treatment, all participants completed measures of their beliefs toward maternal-fetal disease and exercise, goal intention (GI), and implementation intention (IMI). One week later, a measure of self-reported exercise behavior was collected. Main Outcome Measures: Main outcome measures were PMT variables (PV, PS, RE, and SE), GI, IMI, and follow-up physical activity. Results: Participants assigned to the PMT-present group reported significantly higher PS, RE, SE, GI, and increased exercise behavior. PS, RE, and SE predicted GI, GI predicted IMI, and IMI predicted exercise behavior. Conclusion: Information grounded in PMT is effective in influencing pregnant women’s beliefs and intentions as well as changing their initial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The theory of planned behavior and healthy eating.

Application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to healthy eating in 144 health promotion clinic attendees is reported. Respondents completed self-report TPB measures after the clinic (Time 1) and 6 months later (Time 2) with a measure of perceived past behavior. Intention stability was assessed on Time 1-2 differences. Six years later (Time 3), respondents completed measures of healthy eating intentions and behavior. Intentions were predicted by attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and perceived past behavior (cross-sectionally). Healthy eating behavior (Time 3) was predicted from intentions (Time 2). As intention stability increased, intentions and perceived past behavior became stronger and weaker predictors of behavior, respectively. Implications for understanding health cognitions in long-term performance of health behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utility of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior for predicting physician behavior: A prospective analysis.

The utility of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for prospectively predicting physicians' delivery of preventive services was compared. Primary care physicians (N?=?765) completed 2 mail surveys at periods 6 months apart. The addition of perceived behavioral control to the TRA model significantly increased the variance accounted for in behavioral intention and subsequent behavior (p R?=?.52, p R?=?.63, p     

A connectionist implementation of the theory of planned behavior: Association of beliefs with exercise intention.

The theory of planned behavior suggests attitudes are a product of salient beliefs. This study examined whether aggregating salient beliefs was plausible within a more biologically centered information-processing environment. A neural network was used to examine associations among beliefs relating to exercise intention. Data on intentions and behavioral, normative, and control beliefs from 114 respondents were used to train (by error backpropagation) a neural network to associate beliefs with intention. The R2 between the network's estimated and self-reported intention was .66. The network's representation comprised 6 belief profiles associated with high, moderate, or low behavioral intention. The neural network accommodated complex relationships among beliefs and belief-intention associations and indicated how high-level constructs such as attitudes may be viewed as the best fit (compromise state) between aroused beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding readiness for regular physical activity in older individuals: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

This study examined whether stage of readiness for regular physical activity (i.e., discrete phases from inactive to active) was related to beliefs concerning perceived social pressure, attitude, perceived control, and intention. Data were collected from 288 older people through the mail. Frequency data indicated that over 50% of the sample had been engaging in regular physical activity for longer than 6 months. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed that all selected variables shared significant variance with stage of readiness, and discrimination among the stages by the selected variables was successful. Path analysis indicated that intention, attitude, and perceived control had direct relationships with stage of readiness. Discussion focused on the utility of these variables for understanding individual differences in stage of readiness for regular physical activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intention to commit driving violations: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

Assessed the ability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to account for drivers' intentions to commit 4 specific driving violations: drinking and driving, speeding, close following, and overtaking in risky circumstances. A stratified sample of drivers (N?=?881) was surveyed with a questionnaire constructed to measure attitudes toward behaviors, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions, the key constructs in TPB. Results showed that the addition of perceived behavioral control led to significant increments in the amount of explained variance in intentions, thereby supporting the theory. The relation between subjective norms and behavioral intentions was consistently stronger than that between attitudes toward behaviors and behavioral intentions. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) differentiated demographic subgroups of drivers in terms of behavioral beliefs, outcome evaluations, normative beliefs, motivation to comply, and control beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pharmacists' perceptions of a set of pharmaceutical care practice standards

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed pharmacists' perceptions of the feasibility and relevance of a set of community-based pharmaceutical care practice standards. DESIGN: Practice standards generated in a Delphi study were rated for feasibility of implementation and relevance to improving therapeutic outcomes by a randomized sample of 315 pharmacists on two 7-point Likert-type scales. These ratings were compared with assessments by Delphi panel experts. RESULTS: Pharmacists judged many of the standards favorably; however, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA revealed that they were less confident in the standards' feasibility of implementation and relevance to improving patient outcomes than were the Delphi panel experts. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists appear ready to accept a majority of the practice standards used in this study. The lower ratings by respondent pharmacists may be indicative of apprehension about embracing a new practice paradigm and a belief that the provision of pharmaceutical care services has a limited impact on therapeutic outcomes.     

Which survey questions change behavior? Randomized controlled trial of mere measurement interventions.

Objective: Evidence indicates that receiving a questionnaire about a behavior increases the likelihood that the person will perform that behavior—a phenomenon termed the mere measurement effect. This research tested the role of (a) the type of questions, and (b) questionnaire completion in optimizing the impact of mere measurement interventions designed to retain novice blood donors. Design: Novice blood donors (N = 4391) were randomly allocated to four conditions that varied the content of a questionnaire about blood donation (behavioral intention-only, behavioral intention plus regret, implementation intention-only, implementation intention plus regret) or to a no-questionnaire control condition. Main Outcome Measures: Objective measures of registration at blood drives were obtained at 6 and 12 months postbaseline. Results: Participants in the implementation intention-only condition donated more frequently at 6 months compared to participants in each of the other conditions. At 12 months both implementation intention conditions outperformed the other conditions. Implementation intentions increased the frequency of donations over 1 year by 12%. Measuring anticipated regret did not augment the impact of interventions whereas questionnaire completion had an important impact on donation behavior. Conclusion: Questions about implementation intentions but not behavioral intentions promote retention of novice blood donors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting walking intentions and exercise in individuals with intermittent claudication: An application of the theory of planned behavior.

Objective: To identify determinants of intention and walking activity among individuals with intermittent claudication using the theory of planned behavior. Study Design and Participants: Prospective, correlational study of men and women (n = 62) with intermittent claudication. Method: Baseline questionnaire assessing theory of planned behavior measures regarding walking. Telephone follow-up assessing frequency and duration of walking during the previous week. Results: Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control explained 67% of the variance in intentions. Perceived behavioral control explained 8% of the variance in walking activity. Conclusion: Findings support the theory of planned behavior for predicting intentions and warrant future examination of perceived behavioral control as a determinant of exercise. A basis for developing interventions to facilitate walking among this population is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)