title: Understanding the Public's Intentions to Purchase and to Persuade Others to Purchase Antibiotic-Free Meat.
abstract: Extending the effectiveness of media-based campaigns into interpersonal networks has been a long concern for studies on persuasive messages, yet there is much to understand about why people attempt to persuade others to engage in health-related behaviors. This study investigated two alternative predictors of interpersonal persuasion: psychosocial determinants of behavior and homophily. We used the integrated model of behavior (IMB) to predict consumers' intentions to purchase antibiotic-free meat, and extended the model to predict consumers' intentions to encourage important others to do so. IMB variables predicted 44% of future purchasing intentions and 40% of future persuasion intentions. The findings support a homophily explanation for persuasion: people intend to persuade important others to do what they do. In addition, a person-centered analysis identified three audience segments based on antibiotic-resistance-related behaviors, cognitions, and experiences: Purchasers, Resisters, and New Adopters. The covariate analysis revealed that people who had more topic awareness of antibiotic use in animal husbandry, knowledge of someone with an antibiotic-resistant infection, and health mavenism were more likely to be Purchasers than Resisters or New Adopters. Anxiety, however, was highest among New Adopters and lowest among Resisters. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Arts & Sciences , The Pennsylvania State University.
authors.forename: Rachel A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Arts & Sciences , The Pennsylvania State University.
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Arts & Sciences , The Pennsylvania State University.
authors.forename: Kaitlin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shartle
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication Arts & Sciences , The Pennsylvania State University.
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Glick
authors.affiliation: b Pennsylvania Department of Health.
authors.forename: Nkuchia M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: M'ikanatha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents