Utility of the Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior for Predicting Physician Behavior: a Prospective Analysis

The utility of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for prospectively predicting physicians' delivery of preventive services was compared. Primary care physicians (N = 765) completed 2 mail surveys at periods 6 months apart. The addition of perceived behavioral control to the TRA model significantly increased the variance accounted for in behavioral intention and subsequent behavior (p < .001). TPB constructs were related to physicians' intentions to educate adolescents about sexually transmitted disease transmission (R = .52, p < .001) and to their subsequent delivery of this service (R = .63, p < .001). Perceived behavioral control had direct effects on behavior and interacted with social norms and behavioral intentions. Applications of models such as the TRA or TPB have focused primarily on predicting the behavioral intentions and behaviors of patients. Results suggest that these models have relevance for studying the behavior of health care providers as well.