Mammography Screening within the Context of the Theory of Planned Behavior: The Role of Personality Traits and Personal Factors

Abstract

The present study examined the associations between optimism, personal characteristics and theory of planned behavior (TPB) components for mammography screening. Most of the results were in line with TPB which proposed that intention would be the most proximal determinant of a behavior and the effects of other factors including attitudes and perceived behavioral control on behavior would be mediated through intention. However, a number of demographic and health-related factors, including age and a previous benign breast disease emerged as independent factors associated with mammography screening, providing evidence that personal factors should be taken into account in future applications of the TPB when examining mammography screening behavior.