Theoretical perspectives relevant to breast self-examination

The disparity between women's knowledge and performance of breast self-examination (BSE) remains an unresolved clinical problem. As a screening behavior, BSE raises interesting issues about motivation. Adequate and useful theoretical perspectives are needed to guide research and to explain BSE performance. This article compares three perspectives of relevance to BSE--the health belief model, self-efficacy theory, and self-regulation theory--and cites empirical support in BSE research for each. A useful theoretical perspective to guide research on BSE is identified. Assumptions within each perspective are also addressed. Finally, future directions for BSE research are proposed.