Browsing by Subject "Theory of planned behavior"
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Item Changes in Obesity-related Food Behavior: A Nutrition Education Intervention to Change Attitudes and Other Factors Associated with Food-related Intentions in Adolescents: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior(2011-08-08) Carson, Diane E.This research examines the effect of a nutrition education intervention to change attitudes and other factors associated with eating breakfast and consuming low-fat dairy and whole-grains. Adolescents (n = 106) 11 to 15 years old were recruited from afterschool programs in Los Angeles County, California. Participants in the treatment group (n = 57) met once weekly for 60 minutes during seven weeks. The curriculum focused on changing attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control toward eating breakfast along with including low-fat dairy and whole grains. The first three lessons focused on basic nutrition concepts. The later lessons focused on identifying barriers and overcoming barriers, goal-setting, and identifying methods to stay motivated. Questionnaires were administered at baseline and post-intervention. Data were analyzed using SAS statistical analysis program (v. 9.2). Eighty-eight percent of participants were Hispanic, 55% were girls, and mean age was 12 years. One-hundred six adolescents completed the questionnaire at baseline and 75 completed it at post-intervention. Cronbach alpha statistic for subjective norms and attitudes toward eating breakfast, consuming low-fat dairy and whole-grains were 0.67 and higher for each dependant variable. Intention was significantly predicted by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control; however, as these models do not differentiate change, additional models were run with interactions between group (treatment versus control) and the change variables. Significant changes in perceived behavioral control were observed among participants in the treatment group regarding drinking skim milk, 1% milk, and 2% milk respectively (p < .05; p < .001; p < .001) and attitude (p < .05). No change was observed in breakfast eating or consumption of wholegrainsItem Drivers of environmentally-friendly technology adoption : electric vehicle and residential solar PV adoption in California(2016-05) Nath, Vivek; Rai, Varun; Zarnikau, JayThe use of electric vehicles (EVs) and residential solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is expected to play a role in stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere within an acceptable range, to mitigate detrimental climate change impacts. This thesis uses two uniquely rich datasets from the EV and residential solar PV market in California to study the demographic, motivational, social and informational influences on technology adoption decision-making. Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) are extensively used to contextualize the findings. Several findings aligned with Rogers’ generalizations regarding communication channels and characteristics of earlier adopters, and the increasing role of interpersonal communication channels signaled a shift to the early majority. Strong support was also found for the theory of planned behavior through the identification of the role of personal norms, subjective norms, attitude, and perceived behavioral control on intention and, ultimately, behavior. Information channels used by the EV cohort suggest a possible departure from TPB through the role of habitual behavior and attitudinal formation.Item Exploring memorable messages about the misuse of prescription stimulants : predicting behavioral intention and illicit stimulant use(2015-08) Crook, Brittani Lee; Dailey, René M.; Donovan, Erin E; Vangelisti, Anita; Mackert, Michael; Holleran Steiker, LoriThe illicit use of prescription stimulants among college undergraduates is a prevalent and dangerous problem on college campuses across the United States. Though classified by the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency as schedule II controlled substances (U.S. Department of Justice, 2008), undergraduates obtain these medications through peers and friends, and report misusing of these stimulants to aid their concentration and studying (DeSantis, Webb, & Noar, 2008). Because extant research concludes that the prevalence of the misuse of prescription stimulants (MPS) peaks among undergraduates, this research was guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991) as well as a memorable messages framework (Knapp, Stohl, & Reardon, 1981), and sought to examine the messages that college students recall about MPS, how those messages are associated with student’s intention to use stimulants directly, as well as indirectly through changes in attitudes, normative beliefs, and efficacy, and finally, to examine if receiving a memorable message predicts changes in intention to use, or actual use of stimulants over time. Data for the main study were collected in October 2014, and 137 undergraduate students reported a memorable message about MPS and were retained for analysis. Four weeks later, a follow-up survey was launched, and 89 undergraduates also completed the second survey. Results suggest that undergraduates do recall memorable messages about MPS, and the content focuses on the themes of academics, health outcomes, and responsible use. Additionally, memorable messages tended to be more negative than positive, and came from a variety of sources including close friends and peers, family members, instructors, and medical professionals, to name a few. Further, participants’ attitudes and normative beliefs were positively associated with behavioral intention at Time 1. Additionally, behavioral intention at Time 1 was positively associated with behavioral use at Time 2. The findings from this research provide several practical implications for future health education and promotion campaigns.Item EXTENDING THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR: FACTORS PREDICTING INTENTIONS TO PERFORM HANDWASHING PROTOCOL IN CROSS-CULTURAL FOODSERVICE SETTINGS(2011-05) Burusnukul, Pattarapong; Harp, Shelley S.; Stout, Betty L.; Kolyesnikova, Nataliya P.; Callison, Coy; Binkley, MargaretAnnually billions of consumers worldwide experience foodborne illnesses attributed to sub-standard hygienic practices. A contributing issue often cited is inadequate and improper handwashing by foodservice workers. Handwashing compliance in the foodservice industry has been reported to be sub-optimal and in critical need of improvement. In order to achieve successful behavioral change, a range of personal, social, and environmental factors as well as barriers to performing food safety practices in retail foodservice establishments need to be addressed. Research shows relying on educational training alone is ineffective and likely to produce limited results. Therefore, a comprehensive intervention program that incorporates an educational component and addresses the ecological factors influential to the performance of handwashing behavior in the organizational infrastructure is needed to ensure optimal results. In-depth understanding of the relationships among factors influencing handwashing intention, handwashing behavior, and knowledge about handwashing performance would be useful to foodservice providers for the development and implementation of effective handwashing intervention programs. The purpose of this research was two-fold: (a) to develop a theoretical framework for the investigation of handwashing behavior in the foodservice context and (b) to validate the foodservice handwashing theoretical framework in a cross-cultural context. A research-based model incorporating the psychology-based Theory of Planned Behavior (TpB) was proposed to explain the relationships among ecological variables and to better understand the motivational factors underlying foodservice workers’ handwashing performance in two cultures, the United States (US) and Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). Data were collected in the Fall of 2009 in the US and in the Fall of 2010 in Taiwan, ROC from a convenience sample comprised of undergraduate university students majoring in Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts programs who had foodservice work experience. For each cultural context, data were analyzed to assess the validity and reliability of the self-administered handwashing survey instrument and to evaluate the utility of the hypothesized TpB based model in examining handwashing behavior in foodservice settings. Further, data analysis was performed to examine the relationships among the multi-item variables including: (a) handwashing behavior, (b) intention, (c) attitude, (d) subjective norm, (e) perceived behavioral control, (f) subjective knowledge, (g) behavioral beliefs, (h) normative beliefs, and (i) control beliefs. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated the handwashing assessment instrument (FS/HB-76) was successfully developed, having validity and reliability in measuring the constructs of the extended TpB to examine handwashing behavior in the foodservice context. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses showed acceptable model fit to the observed data from self-administered surveys suggesting the capability of utilizing the extended TpB in explaining and predicting foodservice workers’ handwashing behavior in both the US and Taiwan, ROC foodservice contexts. However, these findings should be accepted with caution in light of the revealed relationships among various influential factors and handwashing intention and behavior. For US foodservice workers (N = 265), SEM results revealed a non-significant relationship between handwashing intention and previous handwashing performance. Of the basic TpB motivational factors (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control), only attitude influenced handwashing intention. Subjective knowledge, as an extension to the TpB, was found to have significant impact and direct influence on handwashing intention, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. For Taiwan, ROC foodservice workers (N = 297), no significant relationship between handwashing intention and previous handwashing performance was found. However, handwashing performance was directly influenced by perceived behavioral control. Of the basic TpB motivational factors, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control influenced handwashing intention. The proposed subjective knowledge was found to have direct influence on intention as well as indirect influence on intention through subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. While not initially hypothesized, control beliefs were found to have direct influence on subjective norm. For researchers, findings contribute to the body of knowledge pertaining to food safety in the epidemiological literature and provide a replicable theoretical framework for empirical research. For academicians and foodservice practitioners, this research offers practical information that can be (a) incorporated into the development of more effective food safety intervention programs and (b) used in managerial applications for improving handwashing compliance in the foodservice industry. Data for this research were acquired from convenience samples of undergraduate students with foodservice work experience enrolled at two universities in each cultural context. Therefore, caution needs to be taken when generalizing the findings to other foodservice workers. Future research should replicate the study with a sample drawn from the general population of foodservice workers in diverse foodservice formats (e.g., casual and fast-food restaurants; independent, chain, franchised restaurants; and institutional foodservices) to increase demographic diversity in the sample (e.g., educational background, age, ethnic identification, geographic location) and generalizability of research results. Further, pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments should be conducted to establish cause and effect of intervention on foodservice workers’ psychological characteristics regarding motivational factors toward handwashing behavior. In addition, consideration should be given to conducting direct observation in acquiring data on handwashing performance to avoid the effects of social desirability bias and temporal difference of measurement (i.e., between intention and behavioral performance).Item The influence of personal characteristics, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and recent past behavior as predictors of university students’ intention to utilize emergency contraception(2011-05) Griggs, Scott Karr; Brown, Carolyn M., Ph. D.; Lawson, Kenneth A.; Rascati, Karen L.; Wilson, James P.; Hargrave, LanceThe purpose of this study was to use the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict university students’ intention to use emergency contraception (EC). The study explored the utility of the TPB model constructs (attitude [A], subjective norm [SN], perceived behavioral control [PBC]) as well as recent past behavior (RPB) to predict students’ intention to utilize EC. The study also investigated the significance of demographic and personal characteristics—age and gender in particular—as they relate to the TPB components and RPB. A web-based survey, developed from three structured focus groups, was pretested and emailed to 2,000 university students. An overall usable response rate of 21.0 percent was obtained. In general, university students intended to use EC should the need occur, held favorable attitudes toward the use of EC, were somewhat influenced by social norms regarding EC use, and perceived themselves to have some control over EC utilization. For direct measures (TPB), A, SN, and PBC were significant predictors of intention to use EC. The direct model explained 49.2 percent of the variance in intention. Using indirect measures, A and SN were significant predictors of intention, but PBC was not; the indirect model accounted for 41.3 percent of the variance in intention to take EC. Attitude was the strongest TPB predictor for both models, followed by SN and PBC. The RPB variable did not significantly improve the TPB model. While hypothesized age differences were not significant, gender differences showed female students having a more favorable A and SN as well as a stronger PBC (direct measures) toward the use of EC. In addition, several statistically significant relationships occurred between demographic/personal characteristics and the TPB constructs. In summary, this study identified several key factors that partially explain why university students either intend or do not intend to use EC if needed. The TPB has utility in predicting utilization of EC in university students. Focusing particular attention on A, as well as SN and PBC, will allow researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, and legislators to develop strategies and educational programs to enable men and women to use EC responsibly.Item Understanding help-seeking behavior in college students of Mexican origin who are suffering from anxious and/or depressive symptoms(2012-05) Aguirre, Fabian; Bigler, Rebecca S.; Telch, Michael J.; Carlson, Caryn L.; Dominguez, Juan M.; Guzman, Michele R.This study sought to understand why college students of Mexican origin underutilize mental health services (i.e., university counseling services). Previous research has identified several potential reasons for the underutilization of mental health services by Mexican Americans. These reasons can be grouped into one of three categories: (1) negative attitudes toward mental illness and mental health services, (2) greater use of alternative, informal resources, and (3) barriers. To examine these factors in the context of help-seeking behavior, Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used. The TPB assumes that the best predictor of a certain behavior is an individual’s intention to perform that specific behavior. This model includes three determinants of the intent to perform a certain behavior: (1) attitudes toward the behavior, (2) subjective normative beliefs about performing the behavior, and (3) perceived behavioral control of performing the behavior. The primary aim of this study was to examine the meditating effects of culture on the TPB and investigate the unique factors contributing to help-seeking behavior in college students of Mexican origin reporting anxious and/or depressive symptoms. Results showed that the TPB was effective in predicting help-seeking behavior, with attitudes and subjective normative beliefs as the strongest predictors. Acculturation and cultural values did not mediate the TPB model as originally predicted, however the TPB determinants differed in predictability between help-seekers and non help-seekers. Specifically, among help-seekers, attitudes predicted intent to seek psychological services; among non help-seekers, subjective normative beliefs predicted intent. Help-seekers also reported more ease than non help-seekers on a few of the steps toward help-seeking. Lastly, qualitative measures supported findings based on the TPB and provided additional support for the strong stigmatizing views among college students of Mexican origin. These findings suggest that non help-seekers are a complex group and other variables, such as acculturative stress, perceived social support, and screening participants on perceived symptom distress and impairment, need to be addressed. In addition, subjective normative beliefs need to be considered in the development of psychoeducational interventions which encourage seeking psychological services for individuals of Mexican origin experiencing significant anxious or depressive symptoms.Item Using the theory of planned behavior to examine Texas community pharmacists’ intentions to utilize a prescription drug monitoring program(2012-08) Fleming, Marc L., 1971-; Barner, Jamie C.; Brown, Carolyn M.; Shepherd, Marvin D.; Strassels, Scott A.; Novak, SuzanneThe purpose of this study was to determine the predictive utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in predicting and explaining pharmacists’ intention to utilize a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) database, when the validity of the prescription/patient need is in question. The study tested the significance of each TPB model construct variable (attitude [A], subjective norm [SN], and perceived behavioral control [PBC]) in predicting pharmacists’ high intention, compared to non-high intention (dichotomous variable). In addition, the study examined the additional contribution of pharmacists’ perception of prescription (PPDA) drug abuse and perceived obligation (PO) to the TPB model. Demographic and practice characteristics were also explored in relation to the TPB model predictors, A, SN and PBC. A mail questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 998 Texas community pharmacists with active licenses. Three focus groups were conducted to collect information regarding pharmacists’ beliefs toward PDMP database utilization. The usable survey response rate was 26.2%. Due to data that were not normally distributed, intention was dichotomized into high intention and non-high intention. The TPB constructs were significant predictors of pharmacists’ high intention. Pharmacists with positive attitudes were almost twice as likely to have high intention (odds ratio [OR] = 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2 – 2.8). However, SN was the strongest predictor of pharmacists’ high intention (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.4 – 3.3). Pharmacists who reported substantial PBC were also twice as likely to have high intention (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.2 – 3.0). PPDA was not significantly related to pharmacists’ high intention. However, pharmacists’ PO was shown to predict high intention above that explained by the TPB model (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.0 – 3.1). The results of this study support the utility of the TPB model with PO in predicting pharmacists’ high intention to utilize a PDMP database. Interventions that address pharmacists’ A, SN, PBC, and PO may be necessary to increase pharmacists’ high intention to utilize a PDMP database when it becomes available. Future studies using intention as a predictor of pharmacists’ behavior are needed to assess the influence of intention on PDMP utilization.Item Using the theory of planned behavior to predict Texas pharmacists' intention to report serious adverse drug events(2010-05) Gavaza, Paul, 1972-; Brown, Carolyn M., Ph. d.; Rascati, Karen L.; Lawson, Kenneth A.; Wilson, James P.; Steinhardt, Mary A.The purpose of this dissertation was to use the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict Texas pharmacists’ intention to report serious adverse drug effects (ADEs) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study explored the utility of the TPB model constructs (attitude [A], subjective norm [SN], perceived behavioral control [PBC]), as well as past reporting behavior (PRB), and perceived moral obligation (PMO) to predict pharmacists’ intention to report serious ADEs to the FDA. The study also determined if the pharmacists’ A, SN and PBC were related to practice characteristics and demographic factors. A survey was developed based on two focus group interviews, pretested and mailed to 1,500 Texas practicing pharmacists. An overall response rate of 26.4 percent was obtained (n = 377 pharmacists). Overall, pharmacists intended to report serious ADEs, had a favorable attitude towards reporting, were somewhat influenced by social norms regarding reporting and perceived themselves to have some control over reporting serious ADEs to the FDA. For direct measures, A and SN were significant predictors of intention to report serious ADEs, but PBC was not. The TPB constructs together accounted for 34.0 percent of the variance in intention to report serious ADEs to the FDA. Using indirect measures, A, SN and PBC were significant predictors of intention and together accounted for 28.8 percent of the variance in intention to report serious ADEs. PRB and PMO improved the explanatory power of the regression models (direct and indirect measures) over and above the TPB constructs. Unlike most other practice characteristics and demographic factors examined, knowledge was significantly related with the TPB constructs. In summary, A, SN, PBC (indirect measures), PRB, and PMO influence the formation of pharmacists’ intention to report serious ADEs. The TPB has utility in predicting ADE reporting behavior. Pharmacy educators should explore pharmacists’ attitudes, beliefs, and expectations of important others in designing educational programs. Strategies to help pharmacists report more serious ADEs should focus on altering their perception of social pressure towards reporting and addressing the barriers towards ADE reporting (e.g., lack of knowledge).