Reasoned action and social reaction: willingness and intention as independent predictors of health risk.
Three studies are described that assess elements of a new model of adolescent health-risk behavior, the prototype/willingness (P/W) model (F. X. Gibbons & M. Gerrard, 1995, 1997). The 1st analysis examined whether a central element of the prototype model, behavioral willingness, adds significantly to behavioral expectation in predicting adolescents' smoking behavior. The 2nd set of analyses used structural-equation-modeling procedures to provide the 1st test of the complete model in predicting college students' pregnancy-risk behavior. Finally, the 3rd study used confirmatory factor analysis to assess the independence of elements of the model from similar elements in other health behavior models. Results of the 3 studies provided support for the prototype model and, in particular, for 2 of its primary contentions: (a) that much adolescent health-risk behavior is not planned and (b) that willingness and intention are related but independent constructs, each of which can be an antecedent to risk behavior.
Gibbons
F X
FX
Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA. fgibbons@iastate.edu
Gerrard
M
M
Blanton
H
H
Russell
D W
DW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008128:Logic; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior