TY - JOUR
T1 - Intentions to participate in counselling among front-line, at-risk Irish government employees
T2 - an application of the theory of planned behaviour
AU - Hyland, Philip
AU - McLaughlin, Christopher
AU - Boduszek, Daniel
AU - Prentice, Garry
PY - 2012/5/21
Y1 - 2012/5/21
N2 - The study set out to examine intentions to engage in counselling among at-risk Irish government employees and the differential utility of two alternative theory of planned behaviour (TPB) models of behaviour to explain intentions to participate in counselling. Individuals (N=259) employed in a front-line, at-risk occupation for the Irish government completed a TPB-based questionnaire. Quantitative analyses revealed that participants held positive to neutral intentions to participate in counselling, irrespective of gender. The original TPB model explained 49.9% of variance in intentions whereas an alternative TPB model, splitting the perceived behavioural control (PBC) construct between its internal and external control components, explained a further 8.9% of variance. Furthermore, self-efficacy was found to be the strongest predictor of intentions. This study therefore supports the use of the TPB in understanding counselling-seeking behaviour.
AB - The study set out to examine intentions to engage in counselling among at-risk Irish government employees and the differential utility of two alternative theory of planned behaviour (TPB) models of behaviour to explain intentions to participate in counselling. Individuals (N=259) employed in a front-line, at-risk occupation for the Irish government completed a TPB-based questionnaire. Quantitative analyses revealed that participants held positive to neutral intentions to participate in counselling, irrespective of gender. The original TPB model explained 49.9% of variance in intentions whereas an alternative TPB model, splitting the perceived behavioural control (PBC) construct between its internal and external control components, explained a further 8.9% of variance. Furthermore, self-efficacy was found to be the strongest predictor of intentions. This study therefore supports the use of the TPB in understanding counselling-seeking behaviour.
KW - at-risk government group
KW - attitudes towards counselling
KW - psychological counselling
KW - theory of planned behaviour
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2012.681769
DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2012.681769
M3 - Article
VL - 40
SP - 279
EP - 299
JO - British Journal of Guidance and Counselling
JF - British Journal of Guidance and Counselling
SN - 0306-9885
IS - 3
ER -