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Changing Contraceptive Usage Intentions: A Test of the Fishbein Model of Intention 1
Author(s) -
McCarty Dennis
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1981.tb00738.x
Subject(s) - normative , theory of reasoned action , family planning , psychology , test (biology) , normative social influence , social psychology , population , developed country , medicine , research methodology , family medicine , environmental health , philosophy , paleontology , epistemology , biology
The Fishbein model of intention suggests that intention may change as a consequence of change in either a related attitudinal or normative component. This hypothesis was tested on intention to use contraceptives. Users and nonusers of contraceptives were exposed to a message designed to change contraceptive‐usage attitude, to a message directed toward changing the normative beliefs associated with using contraceptives, or to a no‐message control. The messages advocated one of three contraceptive techniques: (a) males were advised to use condoms, (b) males were advised to rely on their partner's use of oral contraceptives, or (c) females were advised to use oral contraceptives. Contraceptive‐usage intention changed only in the two conditions where the model's requirements for change were present. Thus, the pattern of change agreed with Fishbein's suggestions and provided moderate support for the intention model and its application to intention change in health care settings.