An application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to breast and testicular cancer in Ireland.
Authors
Fallon, Emer
Issue Date
2009
Degree
BA in Psychology
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights holder
Rights
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to apply the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1985) to beliefs, attitudes and the level of control people feel they have over whether they carry out a self-examination or not. Copious amounts of money has been spent on cancer awareness and promotion in Ireland. However, the extent to which this information is known to the people of Ireland is relatively unknown. The hypothesis of this study was that external factors such as age, gender, barriers of self-examination and cancer knowledge/ exposure would have an influence on a person's intention to perform a self-examination. A questionnaire examining the specific constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour was specifically designed for the current study in accordance with guidelines derieved from (Ajzen, 2002., & Francis. et al, 2004), and was distributed among 140 part-time students at Dublin Business School (DBS) including 46 males and 96 females, ranging from 18-64 years of age. The study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data and was a survey, cross-sectional and a correlational study. An analysis suggests that attitude and knowledge were predictors of a person's intention to carry out a self-examination while barriers was identified as a predictor of a person's future self-examination behaviour. Implications of the research are discussed as well as future guidelines for dissemination of cancer information and guidelines.