Self-reported Intentions Research Articles

Testing the effectiveness of a gym orientation program

The study was set at a commercial Fitness Center facility based in Dubai, UAE, and aimed to test the effectiveness of a Gym Orientation Program designed to help new members with little-to-no training experience acclimatize to the facility and to fitness training.
 The practical end of all orientation programs is to ameliorate Member Retention; the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the Gym Orientation Program supported member retention via its impact on intermediary perceptual constructs.
 A longitudinal design was used to collect data at three distinct points in the customer journey, on-boarding, completion of the Gym Orientation Program, and at Membership Renewal, one year after joining. Questionnaire instruments were adapted from studies on Student Retention in Higher Education.
 Multivariate analysis of covariance and multiple regression were used to determine whether Gym Members who participated in the Gym Orientation Program differed significantly from those who did not on the basis of institutional and social integration constructs. Multiple Regression was used to assess the impact of the integration metrics on self-reported intent to persist.
 Results suggest that the Gym Orientation Program promoted significantly increased levels of integration and intent to persist, ultimately leading to increased Member Retention. In terms of practical implications, the findings support the conclusion that it is possible to design and implement effective interventions that explicitly aim to increase the sense of institutional and social belonging in order to increase Member Retention.
 The study adopts an original, interdisciplinary approach by deploying the methodological paradigm deployed and refined over five decades in the field of student retention scholarship within Higher Education, underlining the conviction that there is much to be gained by adopting an interdisciplinary perspective.

Food waste concerns, eating behaviour and body weight

Consumer food waste is now a significant social issue. However, given that the modern day food environment has become characterised by larger portion sizes of more energy-dense foods, personal concerns about wasting food may result in eating behaviours that promote excess energy intake and weight gain. Across 3 studies, we developed a brief (5-item) measure to quantify concerns about food waste and examined the relationships between food waste concerns, eating behaviour and body weight. In Study 1, we showed that our 5-item measure of food waste concerns has acceptable convergent and divergent validity, and test-retest reliability. We also found that concerns about wasting food were predictive of greater behavioural intentions to avoid food waste (e.g. eating leftovers). In Study 2, greater food waste concerns were associated with an increased tendency to plate-clear when eating (self-reported), but not with objectively measured body weight or likelihood of having overweight or obesity. In Study 3, we examined how much food participants consumed when served a large portion size of a lunchtime meal and found that food waste concerns did not directly or indirectly predict how much participants ate. Overall, we found evidence that concerns about food waste are related to self-reported intentions to minimize food waste and plate-clearing tendencies, but no evidence that food waste concerns are related to objectively measured energy intake in the laboratory or body weight.

Effect of a web drama video series on HIV and other sexually transmitted infection testing among gay, bisexual and queer men: study protocol for a community-based, pragmatic randomised controlled trial in Singapore: the People Like Us (PLU) Evaluation Study

IntroductionGay, bisexual and queer (GBQ) men are at disproportionately higher risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). While HIV/STI testing rates among GBQ men are increasing worldwide,...

Episodic simulation reduces intergroup bias in prosocial intentions and behavior.

People frequently feel less empathy for and offer less aid to out-groups in need relative to their in-groups. Most attempts aimed at reducing intergroup bias in helping emphasize group-focused cognitions and emotions. However, little is known about how the sensory properties of intergroup episodes informs intergroup decisions. Here we investigate whether episodic simulation (i.e., the ability to imagine events in a specific time and place) (a) increases participants' general willingness to help, and (b) decreases the difference in prosocial intentions and behavior toward in-group versus out-group targets. Experiment 1 revealed that imagining a helping episode significantly increased self-reported intention to help in-group and out-group targets, and eliminated the gap between groups relative to a control manipulation. Path modeling analyses indicated that the effect of episodic simulation was mediated by the vividness of the imagined episode and heightened perspective-taking for the target. Experiment 2 replicated these findings and ruled out reduced encoding of group membership as an explanation for the effect. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the effect of episodic simulation on prosocial intentions was distinct from the effects of imagining people (or contact with them). Experiments 4 and 5 replicated previous experiments with helping behaviors (i.e., writing in a letter of support to the victim of a misfortune; monetary donation to the person in need). These results shed light on a previously unexplored channel of group debasing and conflict reduction. We close by considering implications for future research at the intersection of episodic and intergroup processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Engagement, Innovation, and Impact in a Dietitian Contact Centre: The EatRight Ontario Experience.

Purpose: EatRight Ontario (ERO), a multi-modal dietitian service (phone, email, web), provided the public and health intermediaries with healthy eating advice, professional support, and health promotion tools from 2007 to 2018. An evaluation of ERO was conducted to assess the impact of the model on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour for consumers, utilization, and support levels and satisfaction provided to health intermediaries. Methods: Consumer clients were sent a survey 1-4 weeks after using the ERO service to capture self-reported dietary changes, intentions, nutritional knowledge, and satisfaction. Health intermediaries were recruited through an electronic ERO newsletter and asked about how ERO supported their practice. Results: Of the 867 consumer respondents, 92% had either made a change or indicated that information from ERO confirmed their present behaviour, and 96% indicated they would recommend the services to others. Of the 337 health intermediaries who responded 71% indicated that ERO provided services they could not deliver. Conclusions: ERO's multi-modal dietitian contact centre provides a model for implementing successful remote service access for consumers and professionals to support healthy eating across diverse demographics and geographies, including those in geographically underserved areas.

Self-reported willingness to share political news articles in online surveys correlates with actual sharing on Twitter.

There is an increasing imperative for psychologists and other behavioral scientists to understand how people behave on social media. However, it is often very difficult to execute experimental research on actual social media platforms, or to link survey responses to online behavior in order to perform correlational analyses. Thus, there is a natural desire to use self-reported behavioral intentions in standard survey studies to gain insight into online behavior. But are such hypothetical responses hopelessly disconnected from actual sharing decisions? Or are online survey samples via sources such as Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) so different from the average social media user that the survey responses of one group give little insight into the on-platform behavior of the other? Here we investigate these issues by examining 67 pieces of political news content. We evaluate whether there is a meaningful relationship between (i) the level of sharing (tweets and retweets) of a given piece of content on Twitter, and (ii) the extent to which individuals (total N = 993) in online surveys on MTurk reported being willing to share that same piece of content. We found that the same news headlines that were more likely to be hypothetically shared on MTurk were also shared more frequently by Twitter users, r = .44. For example, across the observed range of MTurk sharing fractions, a 20 percentage point increase in the fraction of MTurk participants who reported being willing to share a news headline on social media was associated with 10x as many actual shares on Twitter. We also found that the correlation between sharing and various features of the headline was similar using both MTurk and Twitter data. These findings suggest that self-reported sharing intentions collected in online surveys are likely to provide some meaningful insight into what content would actually be shared on social media.

Factors associated with serious intent to die among suicide attempters in Hungary.

As suicide attempts pose major risk for future suicide death, understanding the underlying factors of suicide attempts and suicidal behaviour is an important mental health imperative. The aim of this study was to examine suicide attempts with a special focus on the intention. A total of 2540 discharge summaries were collected between 2009 and 2011 in Miskolc, Hungary, and a content analysis was conducted. Data regarding the method, the reason for suicide attempts, the amount, the source, and the type of the medication taken were examined. Deliberate self-poisoning was the most frequent method (73.8%) committed with more than 200 different types of drugs. 40.5% of the patients attempted suicide with an intent to die, whilst 35.6% of the patients wanted to escape from an unbearable situation. Older age groups, greater amount of taken pills, and affective disorders were associated with self-reported serious intention to die. Our findings should be taken into consideration when monitoring drugs for older patients with depressive disorders.

Determinants of the Intention to Use Performance-Enhancing Substances Among Portuguese Gym Users.

The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of the intentions to use prohibited performance-enhancing substances (PES) and to test the Theory of Planned Behavior’s usefulness in predicting self-reported PES use in both genders. A convenience sample of Portuguese gym users (n = 453) completed an anonymous web-based survey. Structural equation modeling, multigroup analysis, and t-test with the Welch correction for heterokedastic variances were used. At the structural level, results support attitudes, beliefs, and subjective norms in predicting intentions to PES use in gym users, with subjective norms being its strongest predictor. Moreover, results showed a significant association between self-reported PES use and intentions to use. The predictive model was invariant across genders; however, compared to males, females believed less in the performance-enhancing effects of PES, were less prone to the influence of significant others, and had weaker intentions to use these substances. Psychological strategies should be based on subjective norms, alongside beliefs and attitudes, toward PES use as these variables influence the intention to use PES in this particular population.

The predictive utility of unmet need on time to contraceptive adoption: a panel study of non-contracepting Ugandan women

ObjectiveThe predictive utility of the unmet contraceptive need indicator is not well known, despite being recognized as a key family planning indicator for showing the extant demand for birth control. This study assesses the dynamic influence of unmet need on time to contraceptive adoption, as compared with that of contraceptive intentions and their concordance.Study designThis observational study analyzed survey data, including a contraceptive calendar, reported by a panel of 747 non-contracepting, fecund and sexually active Ugandan women, first interviewed in a 2014 national survey and re-interviewed in 2018. We conducted descriptive, survival and multivariate Cox regression analysis of the influence of women's baseline measures of unmet need, self-reported intention to contracept and their concordance with time to adoption of modern contraception over 36 months.ResultsThe study found women classified as having unmet need were slower to adopt contraception than those without unmet need, after adjustment for background covariates (aHR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.57–1.10). Women intending future contraceptive use were significantly faster to adopt (aHR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.22–1.73) than those not intending. Women with no unmet need but intending to use had the highest rate of adoption compared to those with no need and no intention to use (aHR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.48–5.25).ConclusionsThe unmet need indicator underperforms in predicting future contraceptive adoption compared to contraceptive intentions, which merits further consideration as a complementary predictor of future use. Non-contracepting women with unmet need but no intention to use contraception in particular warrant programmatic attention.ImplicationsA non-contracepting woman wanting to limit or space her births is defined as having unmet need, but little is known if she subsequently adopts contraception. By contrasting a woman's unmet need with her expressed intention to use, we offer reasons to further consider self-reported contraceptive intentions as a better predictor of adoption and the underlying latent demand for volitional regulation of fertility.

Developing a measure of information seeking about phishing

AbstractPhishing e-mails are fraudulent e-mails used to gain access to sensitive information or secure computer systems. They persuade users to click on malicious links, download attachments or provide sensitive information, such as usernames or passwords. One approach that aims to reduce people’s susceptibility to phishing is the provision of information to users regarding the phishing threat and the techniques used within phishing e-mails. In line with this, awareness campaigns are often used within organizations and wider society to raise awareness of phishing and encourage people to engage with protective information. However, the potential effectiveness of such approaches in reducing susceptibility remains uncertain. In particular, there is a lack of research investigating (i) whether the propensity to access such information may in itself influence susceptibility to phishing and (ii) the different factors that motivate people to engage with information in the first place. In order to understand how current and future interventions regarding phishing may be consumed by users, as well as their potential impact on phishing susceptibility, it is important to conduct theoretically based research that provides a foundation to investigate these issues. This study provides a first step in addressing this by developing and validating a theoretically based survey measure across two studies centred upon the constructs of protection motivation theory (perceived vulnerability, severity, self-efficacy and response efficacy) to assess the factors that influence whether people choose to keep up to date with protective information about phishing. This survey measure is then used within Study 2 to provide an initial investigation of the role of these constructs in (i) self-reported user intentions to keep up to date with phishing techniques in the future and (ii) phishing discrimination ability, assessed using a phishing quiz. Overall, higher perceived threat severity, self-efficacy and response efficacy were associated with greater intentions, while greater perceived vulnerability was associated with lower intentions. No relationship was found with phishing discrimination ability. By understanding the factors that influence user intention to maintain knowledge and seek information about phishing threats, it will be possible to ensure that, as effective interventions are developed, their potential impact can be maximized.

Predicting smartphone location-sharing decisions through self-reflection on past privacy behavior

AbstractSmartphone location sharing is a particularly sensitive type of information disclosure that has implications for users’ digital privacy and security as well as their physical safety. To understand and predict location disclosure behavior, we developed an Android app that scraped metadata from users’ phones, asked them to grant the location-sharing permission to the app, and administered a survey. We compared the effectiveness of using self-report measures commonly used in the social sciences, behavioral data collected from users’ mobile phones, and a new type of measure that we developed, representing a hybrid of self-report and behavioral data to contextualize users’ attitudes toward their past location-sharing behaviors. This new type of measure is based on a reflective learning paradigm where individuals reflect on past behavior to inform future behavior. Based on data from 380 Android smartphone users, we found that the best predictors of whether participants granted the location-sharing permission to our app were: behavioral intention to share information with apps, the “FYI” communication style, and one of our new hybrid measures asking users whether they were comfortable sharing location with apps currently installed on their smartphones. Our novel, hybrid construct of self-reflection on past behavior significantly improves predictive power and shows the importance of combining social science and computational science approaches for improving the prediction of users’ privacy behaviors. Further, when assessing the construct validity of the Behavioral Intention construct drawn from previous location-sharing research, our data showed a clear distinction between two different types of Behavioral Intention: self-reported intention to use mobile apps versus the intention to share information with these apps. This finding suggests that users desire the ability to use mobile apps without being required to share sensitive information, such as their location. These results have important implications for cybersecurity research and system design to meet users’ location-sharing privacy needs.

‘InUTERO’: The effectiveness of an educational half day stillbirth awareness workshop for maternity care providers

There is a disconnect between what maternity care providers consider should be done and what they actually do with respect to talking with their pregnant clients about reducing their risk of stillbirth. This suggests that they would benefit from receiving up-to-date knowledge about stillbirth, alongside education that provides them with strategies for talking about stillbirth with pregnant women. To gain an understanding of maternity care provider (obstetricians and midwives) knowledge of stillbirth and determine whether delivering a half day workshop improves knowledge and results in intention to change practice. A pre-post intervention study. Maternity care providers (Obstetricians, Midwives) working in the northern areas of Tasmania, Australia were asked, via questionnaire, about their knowledge of stillbirth both before and after attending a half-day workshop. Maternity care providers (n=51) attended the workshop and 30 (59%) completed both the pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys. A four hour interactive workshop grounded in understanding the stillbirth experience. Participants were given up-to-date information about stillbirth risks and current prevention research as well as provided with an actionable step wise approach to talking about stillbirth prevention in pregnancy. Stillbirth knowledge scores (total of 8-points) significantly increased following the workshop (pre: mean=2.9 ± 1.5; post: mean=4.7 ± 1.4 points, t 29=7.9, <0.001). Before the workshop, only 20% of participants responded that they "always" or usually" discussed the possibility stillbirth occurring with pregnant women in their care whereas, after the workshop, nearly all (88%) indicated that they planned to "always" discuss stillbirth with their pregnant clients. Attending a stillbirth awareness for prevention education workshop resulted in significant knowledge improvement and self-reported intention to change practice in a group of Australian maternity care providers. While these results are promising, further study is needed to determine the presence and extent of actual practice change following such education.

Retention of child welfare workers: staying strategies and supports

ABSTRACTHigh annual turnover rates that plague child welfare agencies are costly and disrupt services. Numerous studies have focused on aspects of the workplace and the characteristics of child welfare workers that may be associated with leaving. Fewer studies have explored the types of worker supports that agencies can offer to encourage retention. This two-study paper utilized data from public child welfare caseworkers to examine predictors of self-reported intent to stay and its association with actually staying at the agency. Results of Study 1 indicated that that self-reported intent to stay was a key predictor of staying (as was number of years on the job). Results of Study 2 indicated that self-efficacy, peer support, supervision, and organizational supports were key predictors of intent to stay. Newer workers differed somewhat from more experienced workers, providing an opportunity for reflection on how agencies can best support staff during different phases of their career.

Social norms and free-riding in influenza vaccine decisions in the UK: an online experiment

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Background</h3> Nudge-based social norm messages conveying high influenza vaccination coverage levels signal a strong social norm, encouraging vaccination, but also a low risk of infection, discouraging vaccination and promoting free-riding. The complex interplay between these two signals can result in ambiguous vaccination decision-making at varying coverage levels. We aimed to measure different vaccination coverage levels' (VCLs) effect on influenza vaccination intention through an online experiment. <h3>Methods</h3> UK residents aged 18 years or older were eligible to participate in this online experiment and recruited via Prolific. They were stratified by gender and randomly assigned to a control group with no message (n=202) or one of seven treatment groups (n=1 163) with different messages of VCLs (ie, proportion of vaccinated people [10%, 25%, 50%, 65%, 75%, 85%, or 95%]) in the respondents' environment. Effect on respondents' vaccination intention was measured with self-reported intention and three elicited behaviour measures: opening an online map locating nearby private flu jab providers; time looking at this map; and downloading a calendar reminder to vaccinate. Linear regressions, probit, logistic, and double hurdle models were used, controlling for population behaviour perceptions, risk attitudes, and behavioural and socioeconomic characteristics collected through individual questionnaires. <h3>Findings</h3> Between May 3 and August 20, 2018, 1365 participants were eligible to participate. Those treated with coverage levels at 65% or higher reported significantly greater stated vaccination intention (greater intention 13·2% [95% CI 6·32–20·08], p<0·0001 if VCL=65%; 15·82% [8·65–23], p<0·0001 if VCL=75%; 18·12% [10·45–25·79], p <0·0001 if VCL=85%; 20·22% [11·98–28·45], p<0·0001 if VCL=95%) than the control group. These participants were also more likely to look at the map of vaccination locations (increased likelihood 14·6 percentage points [3·65–25·55], p=0·0090; 20·81 percentage points [9·73–31·88], p<0·0001; 18·4 percentage points [6·57–30·23], p=0·0023; 14·12 percentage points [1·27–26·96], p=0·031), and spent longer looking at the map (longer viewing 0·52 s [0·13–0·91], p=0·0094; 0·74 s [0·34–1·14], p<0·0001; 0·65 s [0·23–1·08], p=0·0025; 0·5 s [0·04–0·96], p=0·032) than the control group. Coverage lower than 65% did not lead to any significant differences between treatment and control groups for any of these measures. There was no significant effect of any treatment VCL on calendar download intention. <h3>Interpretation</h3> Average vaccination intention was higher at lower coverage levels (potential social norm compliance) but lower at higher coverage levels (possible free-riding). Because this study examines vaccination intention rather than uptake and uses an online experimental design that might dampen generalisability, further research should be done. Still, policy makers should consider this curvilinear effect when designing vaccination interventions as using lower social norm messages might nudge vaccination better than extremely high messages. <h3>Funding</h3> Imperial College Business School, National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit, UK Medical Research Council, Department for International Development, Medical Research Council Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis.

Lifestyle E-Coaching for Physical Activity Level Improvement: Short-Term and Long-Term Effectivity in Low Socioeconomic Status Groups.

E-coaching applications can improve people’s lifestyles; however, their impact on people from a lower socioeconomic status (low SES) is unknown. This study investigated the effectiveness of a lifestyle e-coaching application in encouraging people facing low SES disadvantages to engage in a more active lifestyle over a course of 19 weeks. In this bicountry study, 95 people with low activity level (GR: 50, NL: 45) used a mobile application linked to a wearable activity tracker. At the start and after 6 and 19 weeks, self-reported physical activity levels, attitudes, and intention towards increasing activity levels, perceived behavioral control, and wellbeing were measured. Results indicated that participants using the lifestyle e-coaching application reported significantly more often an increase in activity levels than a parallel control group. Additionally, the people using the application also more often reported increased levels of wellbeing and perceived behavioral control. Therefore, lifestyle e-coaching applications could be a cost-effective solution for promoting healthier lifestyles in low-SES populations.

Effect of visible presence of policing activities on drivers’ vigilance and intention to refrain from non-driving activities: A scenario-based survey of general Japanese drivers

Driver distraction is an important issue for road safety. The visible presence of policing activities alongside roadways seems to be significant in preventing driver distraction and other unsafe driving behaviors. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of the effectiveness of visible policing presence on drivers' self-reported intention to refrain from non-driving activities and that this effectiveness can be enhanced by manipulating deployment even with limited resources. We conducted a scenario-based survey to compare drivers' self-reported intention to refrain from non-driving activities and their vigilance state across several hypothetical driving situations. The three aims of the study were to examine whether drivers' self-reported vigilance and intention to refrain from non-driving activities were associated with (a) the presence or absence of common forms of roadside policing, (b) the agent (police vs. civilian) and medium (human vs. advertisement) of road safety interventions, and (c) different forms of policing (police officer vs. police car) and their respective levels of conspicuousness. Japanese drivers (N = 367) were randomly assigned to receive one of three booklets that included a scenario-based survey. The three booklets contained different combinations of various hypothetical driving scenarios based on the three experiment designs (a, b, c) described above. Participants were asked to rate their vigilance and their intention to refrain from non-driving activities in hypothetical driving situations that varied by the presence or absence of policing and how conspicuous that presence was. We conducted repeated measures within-subject analysis of variance using the three experimental designs. The results showed that the presence of a single police unit engaged in policing activities was associated with more vigilance and greater intention to refrain from non-driving activities. The results suggested that effectiveness of visible policing could be enhanced by increasing conspicuousness of police officers in order to help drivers more easily recognize the presence of police without having to purchase extra equipment. These findings provide useful insights for traffic police to conduct routine policing practices more efficiently to address non-driving activities. Future research is needed to examine these results in a real-world setting.

Wildfire Exposure Increases Pro-Climate Political Behaviors

Despite the climate threat's severity, global policy responses remain anemic. One political challenge has been the temporal mismatch between short-term climate policy costs and long-term climate policy benefits. Will this policymaking obstacle weaken as the impacts of climate change begin to realize? Here we analyze the impact of a climate-related hazard on public support for costly climate reforms. Using a natural experiment based on randomness in the timing of California wildfires we link, for the first time, threat exposure to realized political behavior rather than self-reported attitudes or behavioral intentions. We find that census block groups within 15 km of a wildfire have approximately 4 to 6 percentage points higher support for costly pro-climate ballot measures. The effects are stronger for block groups closest to wildfires, dropping by approximately 1.7 percentage points for every 10km of distance. Moreover, the effect is concentrated among census block groups with a large or medium concentrations of Democratic voters; by contrast, voters in Republican-dominated census block groups are largely unresponsive to wildfires. Our results suggest that experienced climate threats may only enhance willingness-to-act in areas where the public already holds pro-climate identities.

Teachers’ intentions to report suspected child abuse: the influence of compassion fatigue

Teachers are legally mandated to report suspected child abuse – a role that positions teachers as crucial figures in the detection and prevention of child abuse. It is, thus, important to explore underlying determinants of teachers’ likelihood to report suspected child abuse. In this research, we explore teachers’ and school administrators’ (N = 299) knowledge of abuse reporting policy and their self-reported intentions to report hypothetical instances of suspected child abuse. We also explore the relationship between compassion fatigue (i.e., job burnout and secondary traumatic stress stemming from vicarious exposure to client trauma) and teachers’ attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse. A significant minority of teachers indicate that they would not report suspected child abuse – a finding that holds even after eliminating the 10.3% of teachers who were unaware of policy requiring teachers to report suspected child abuse. Supporting hypotheses, as compassion fatigue increased, negative attitudes toward child abuse reporting significantly increased. Additionally, increased compassion fatigue was significantly associated with increased job efficacy cynicism, psychological detachment from students, and diminished knowledge about reporting child abuse – all factors that statistically explained the relationship between compassion fatigue and negative attitudes toward reporting suspected abuse.

Working memory moderates the association between condom use intentions and behavior among moderate-to-heavy drinking men who have sex with men.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a high-risk population for HIV infection and this risk is increased for those who consume alcohol. Condomless anal intercourse (CAI) is the central transmission risk factor for this population. This study examined whether individual differences in working memory moderated the association between intentions to use condoms and the frequency of CAI among MSM who engaged in anal intercourse over a subsequent 6-week period. Moderate- and heavy-drinking MSM (n = 207) completed questionnaires regarding alcohol use and condom use intentions and an operation span task to assess working memory at baseline. Participants then completed 6weeks of morning surveys via a mobile phone app to assess anal intercourse frequency with and without condoms. Negative binomial regression analyses showed that the association between intentions to use condoms and episodes of CAI during the monitoring period was moderated by working memory such that intentions predicted CAI for those high in working memory but not those low in working memory. These results support the view that self-reported intentions may be less-likely to translate into health behaviors among those with poorer executive functioning skills.

A path model of psychosocial constructs predicting future Zika vaccine uptake intent

The recent Zika virus outbreak, while no longer an international public health emergency, is still a serious threat, particularly to pregnant women and babies born to pregnant women infected with the virus. This study examined the predictive effects of psychosocial constructs on self-reported intent to get a future Zika vaccine among women of reproductive age. Data were collected using an online survey with a representative sample of 339 women ages 18-49 from the continental United States. The survey addressed variables originating with the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) as related to future Zika vaccine uptake intent. Three quarters of all respondents reported intention to get a future Zika vaccine. Path modeling revealed a direct effect of perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy on future Zika vaccine uptake intent, as well as an indirect effect of perceived susceptibility through both self-efficacy and response efficacy. In addition, the final model showed an indirect effect of perceived severity on Zika vaccine uptake intent through self-efficacy and response efficacy and accounted for 54.6% of the variance in vaccination intent. These findings have implications for future Zika vaccine promotion campaigns. This study confirms the importance of perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy for use in Zika vaccine uptake campaigns; in addition, when using perceived severity, both self-efficacy and response efficacy should be considered in message design.