'Inclined abstainers': a problem for predicting health-related behaviour
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|June 26, 1998
Summary
Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) predicted cervical screening motivation and uptake, but intentions didn't always lead to action. Many women willing to screen did not, highlighting a gap in translating motivation into health behavior.
Area of Science:
- Health Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing health behavior is crucial for preventive care.
- Cervical screening uptake remains suboptimal in certain populations.
- Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) offers a framework for analyzing health-related intentions and actions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally assess the association between motivation for precautionary health action and subsequent behavior.
- To examine the predictive power of PMT variables on women's intention and uptake of cervical screening.
- To investigate the gap between motivation and actual screening behavior.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study involving 166 never-screened women.
- Measurement of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) variables.
- One-year follow-up to determine cervical screening uptake from medical records.
- Regression and discriminant analyses to evaluate motivation-behavior associations.
Main Results:
- PMT variables significantly predicted both motivation and uptake of cervical screening.
- A notable inconsistency was observed between motivation and actual screening behavior (57% discrepancy).
- PMT cognitions could classify four motivation-behavior patterns, but not reliably distinguish between motivated actors and abstainers.
Conclusions:
- PMT effectively explains motivation for health choices like cervical screening.
- The theory has limitations in explaining the translation of intention into action.
- Further research into the psychology of volition is needed to bridge the intention-behavior gap in health actions.
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