The usefulness of perceived difficulty for health research

Prototypes reflect normative perceptions: implications for the development of reasoned action theory

The reasoned action approach is one of the most successful behavioral theories in the history of social psychology. This study outlines the theoretical principles of reasoned action and considers when it is appropriate to augment it with a new variable. To demonstrate, we use survey data collected from a 4 to 17 year old U.S. adolescents to test how the 'prototype' variables fit into reasoned action approach. Through confirmatory factor analysis, we find that the prototype measures are normative pressure measures and when treated as a separate theoretical construct, prototype identity is not completely mediated by the proximal predictors of behavioral intention. We discuss the assumptions of the two theories and finally consider the distinction between augmenting a specific theory versus combining measures derived from different theoretical perspectives.

Predicting Binge Drinking in College Students: Rational Beliefs, Stress, or Loneliness?

We proposed a conceptual model to predict binge-drinking behavior among college students, based on the theory of planned behavior and the stress-coping hypothesis. A two-wave online survey was conducted with predictors and drinking behavior measured separately over 2 weeks' time. In the Wave 1 survey, 279 students at a public university in the United States answered questions assessing key predictors and individual characteristics. In the Wave 2 survey, 179 participants returned and reported their drinking behavior over 2 weeks' time. After conducting a negative binomial regression, we found that more favorable attitude toward drinking and less perceived control of drinking at Wave 1 were associated with more binge drinking at Wave 2; subjective norm at Wave 1 was not a significant predictor of binge drinking at Wave 2; students with higher stress at Wave 1 engaged in more binge drinking at Wave 2, but those with higher loneliness did not. Implications of findings are discussed.