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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors
Published on: January 25, 2018
Discontinuity patterns in stages of the precaution adoption process model: meat consumption during a livestock
Falko F Sniehotta1, Aleksandra Luszczynska, Urte Scholz
1School of Psychology, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, UK. f.sniehotta@abdn.ac.uk
Objectives:
Patterns of changes in social-cognitive variables were investigated in order to test selected stages of the precaution adoption process model (PAPM). It was hypothesized that non-linear trends (discontinuity patterns) in perceived vulnerability, positive and negative outcome expectancies, procrastination, and self-efficacy might be observed across the stages.
Design:
Cross-sectional data from 808 respondents were employed.
Method:
Questionnaire data were collected in an on-line study on meat consumption during a livestock epidemic in Germany. Polynomial trends and analyses of variance with post-hoc-contrasts were used to examine the patterns of change.
Results:
Discontinuity patterns were found for perceived vulnerability, negative outcome expectancies, and procrastination. The data provided partial support for discontinuity patterns in self-efficacy. Continuity patterns were found for positive outcome expectancies.
Conclusions:
Results provide support for a stage model rather than a pseudo-stage model.
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