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Published on: September 7, 2013
Predicting sun-protective intentions and behaviours using the theory of planned behaviour: a systematic review and
Louise C Starfelt Sutton1, Katherine M White1
1a School of Psychology and Counselling , Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane , Australia.
Objective:
To synthesise theory of planned behaviour (TPB) relationships, using meta-analysis, and test the predictive utility of the model for sun protection behaviour.
Design:
Thirty-eight samples were identified via database/manual searches and academic society posts based on the criteria: measuring sun-protective intentions and/or prospective behaviour; using the TPB/theory of reasoned action as a basis of measurement; and providing bivariate correlations for at least one relevant TPB association.
Main Outcome Measures:
Sun-protective intentions and behaviours.
Results:
The sample-weighted average effects were moderate-to-strong with attitudes showing the strongest association with intention (r+ = 0.494), followed by perceived behavioural control (PBC; r+ = 0.451), and subjective norm (r+ = 0.419). Intentions showed a stronger association with prospective behaviour (r+ = 0.486) compared to PBC (r+ = 0.314). A total of 39% of variance in intentions and 25% of variance in behaviour were explained. Publication bias was not evident. Moderator analyses showed that TPB associations were stronger when measures specified the Target, Action, Context and Time; in non-student samples; and when follow-up exceeded two weeks.
Conclusion:
Despite recent criticism, this review shows that the TPB explains a large amount of variance in sun protection and that TPB associations are robust across different populations.
