Intentions to participate in counselling among front-line, at-risk Irish government employees: an application of the theory of planned behaviour

Philip Hyland, Christopher McLaughlin, Daniel Boduszek, Garry Prentice

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)279-299
Number of pages21
JournalBritish Journal of Guidance and Counselling
Volume40
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 May 2012
Externally publishedYes

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