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U.S. colleges and universities have hosted international students from all over the world. Along with the increase of international student enrollment, campus counselors are challenged with identifying the students who need professional help but are reluctant to utilize their campus counseling services (Zhang and Dixon, 2003; Mitchell et al., 2007). Employing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the current study investigated Virginia Tech international students' help-seeking process in terms of their attitudes toward counseling services, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. A total of 132 international students completed a cross-sectional online survey. Contrary to TPB, the results indicated that attitudes toward help-seeking and subjective norms were not correlated with help-seeking intentions. Perceived behavioral control, however, was identified as a predictor of international students' willingness to seek professional help. Intentions and perceived behavioral control were not predictors of international students' utilization of the Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center. The correlation between acculturation and self-stigma with international students'] help-seeking intentions and behaviors was insignificant. Gender was a marginally significant predictor of help-seeking behavior. Previous experience of counseling services was strongly correlated with international students' help-seeking intentions and behavior. The majority of Virginia Tech international students reported emotional issues as their biggest challenge while studying in the U.S. Overall, as the first study which investigated international students' help-seeking process within the Theory of Planned Behavior framework, the present research expanded the literature about foreign students' adjustment issues and utilization of their campus counseling services. Limitations, future directions, and general implications were addressed. / Master of Arts

College alcohol abuse continues as a major public-health concern. Theory-driven research is necessary to address the severe negative consequences of this college drinking. One theory that offers particular promise is the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This theory posits that attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and intentions are the causal underpinnings of behavior. The current research investigates the utility of this theory in predicting college-student drinking behavior and investigates the potential benefit of including "motives" as an additional theoretical construct. In total, 316 students completed two electronic surveys. The first survey measured participants" standing on TPB constructs and motives. The second survey, administered two weeks later, asked participants about their alcohol consumption over the prior two weeks. Results not only shed light on the severity of the college drinking culture, but also offered a potential theoretical mechanism to promote positive behavior change. While the average participant reported consuming alcohol at binge drinking levels, the TPB with the inclusion of motives offered promise. Using structural equation modeling, this proposed model explained 71% of the variance in drinking intentions and 83% of the variance in self-reported drinking behavior in the follow-up survey. Motives added significantly to this model, indicating future TPB studies may benefit from including motives as an additional theoretical construct. / Master of Science

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Nancy Muturi / Collegiate student-athletes have been identified as an especially at-risk subgroup for heavy alcohol use as compared to the general college student population. Despite the intense physical demands required for athletic participation, national studies have found that intercollegiate athletes consumed more alcohol, engaged in more frequent heavy episodic drinking, and experienced more negative alcohol-related consequences as compared with non-athletes. A combination of structured open-ended and closed-ended questions was used in the current study. Data was collected from student-athletes across the United States through semi-structured, individual interviews informed by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) and its constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control). Open coding was the chosen method for data analysis for the study. Codes, accompanied by descriptives, were organized into themes as they related to the research questions and the theory of planned behavior. Results show that nearly half (49%) of student-athletes report drinking five or more drinks in one-sitting, with the majority of student-athletes consuming alcohol only 1-2 times per week at parties. Student-athletes’ attitudes towards heavy drinking and alcohol outcome expectancies are apparent in two themes: sexual risk taking and athletic training justification. Many respondents expressed alcohol-drinking relationships with other student-athletes at their institution. The NCAA has recognized the importance of addressing alcohol related issues among collegiate athletes. However, the type of educational programming being assigned by the NCAA has been generally ineffective in reducing alcohol use of student-athletes. In fact, of the student-athletes surveyed in this study, the majority struggled with recalling NCAA alcohol prevention programs that they are familiar with—only 13% of student-athletes use alcohol prevention skills and tools taught by the NCAA or their athletic department to reduce alcohol consumption. Similarly, there is a belief among student-athletes that the NCAA is not doing enough to reduce alcohol use among student-athletes is exemplified by the fact that the majority (57%) gave the NCAA an F letter-grade for their current alcohol intervention and prevention strategies that are being taught to student-athletes. Although the NCAA requires student-athletes to participate in alcohol, tobacco and other drug education programming, only approximately 25% of student-athletes surveyed recalled viewing a NCAA drug and alcohol educational video or reading a brochure detailing the effect alcohol has on athletic performance at the beginning of the academic year. Furthermore, 85% of student-athletes reported that they were not informed of the counseling or alcohol treatment options that the NCAA provides.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Rebecca A. Gould / Congregate meal programs under Older Americans Act Title IIIC provide hot meals for individuals 65 and older in a community setting during lunch time. The program focuses on preventing the problems associated with malnutrition and social isolation. From 1980 to 2002, the number of congregate meals served decreased by 18% while home-delivered meals increased almost 290%. To further understand reasons for declining program participation factors that impact participation were examined. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used in this study to explain participation intention of community-dwelling elderly who lived in the Kansas North Central-Flint Hill region. A two-phased elicitation study including: 1) focus groups and 2) salient beliefs study was administered to uncover participation beliefs and identify and clarify salient belief items. Based on the results of an elicitation study and a literature review, a valid questionnaire was developed. Data were collected at a senior fair, senior centers, senior living facilities, senior exercise classes, and a monthly meeting of retired seniors yielding a total of 238 samples. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to summarize the respondent’s demographic characteristics. A two-step modeling approach including confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was performed to assess measurement model fit and checked causal relationships between factors. Five advantages that respondents believe influence participation include: convenience, social interaction, low-price, nutritious and balanced meals, and less waste. Family members, friends, neighbors, cooks at the meal site, and heath professionals were important referents who affected seniors’ program participation intention. The salient facilitators of program participation were activities at senior centers, the availability of transportation, the inclusive culture of senior centers, the lack of motivation and ability to cook, and poor weather. Results show the data fits the TPB moderately well: all predictor variables (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavior control (PBC), and past behavior) had a significant positive effect on participation intention. Among the four factors, PBC had the greatest predictive power on intention. Attitude had the least impact on participation intention. Seniors provide thoughtful and insightful opinions about meal program. Results suggest program provider should focus on remove participation barriers and implement effective strategies to increase congregate meal program participation. The ultimate goal is to encourage the elderly to participate, improving their nutritional intake and thus, their quality of life.

E-Government is the use of information technology particularly web applications to deliver convenient services for citizens, business and government. Governments worldwide spend billions of their budgets in order to deliver convenient electronic services to their citizens. There are two important points; government offers online services, and citizens consume these services. In order to maximize the benefits of these projects and to avoid possible failures, the gap between these points should be addressed. Yet there are few empirical studies that have covered the relevant issues of adoption from the citizen perspective in developing countries. This research study investigates citizens’ acceptance of e-government services in the context of Saudi Arabia. It posits an integrated model of the key elements that influence citizens’ adoption of e-government. The framework includes a combination of attitudinal, social, control and trust factors as well as the influence of gender. The model is validated by surveying 533 citizens and utilising the structural equation modeling technique for data analysis. Findings show that both measurement and structural models exhibit good model fit to data. The study shows that all constructs satisfy the criteria of constructs reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. The paths estimations show that of the sixteen designed casual relationships, eleven paths relationships were found to be significant while the other five paths remained unsupported.

The purpose of this dissertation was to use the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict Texas pharmacists’ intention to report serious adverse drug effects (ADEs) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study explored the utility of the TPB model constructs (attitude [A], subjective norm [SN], perceived behavioral control [PBC]), as well as past reporting behavior (PRB), and perceived moral obligation (PMO) to predict pharmacists’ intention to report serious ADEs to the FDA. The study also determined if the pharmacists’ A, SN and PBC were related to practice characteristics and demographic factors. A survey was developed based on two focus group interviews, pretested and mailed to 1,500 Texas practicing pharmacists. An overall response rate of 26.4 percent was obtained (n = 377 pharmacists). Overall, pharmacists intended to report serious ADEs, had a favorable attitude towards reporting, were somewhat influenced by social norms regarding reporting and perceived themselves to have some control over reporting serious ADEs to the FDA. For direct measures, A and SN were significant predictors of intention to report serious ADEs, but PBC was not. The TPB constructs together accounted for 34.0 percent of the variance in intention to report serious ADEs to the FDA. Using indirect measures, A, SN and PBC were significant predictors of intention and together accounted for 28.8 percent of the variance in intention to report serious ADEs. PRB and PMO improved the explanatory power of the regression models (direct and indirect measures) over and above the TPB constructs. Unlike most other practice characteristics and demographic factors examined, knowledge was significantly related with the TPB constructs. In summary, A, SN, PBC (indirect measures), PRB, and PMO influence the formation of pharmacists’ intention to report serious ADEs. The TPB has utility in predicting ADE reporting behavior. Pharmacy educators should explore pharmacists’ attitudes, beliefs, and expectations of important others in designing educational programs. Strategies to help pharmacists report more serious ADEs should focus on altering their perception of social pressure towards reporting and addressing the barriers towards ADE reporting (e.g., lack of knowledge). / text

Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the US, with an estimated incidence rate of 6.2 million new cases each year. Men have higher instances of certain HPV related outcomes (e.g., head/neck cancers) when compared to women, so male vaccination with the HPV vaccine is also paramount to preventing cancer. The present study examined the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a model for predicting HPV vaccination intentions among men. Results suggest the TPB was a well-fitting model to the data, but not all aspects of the TPB model were predictive of HPV vaccination intentions. Behavioral beliefs (e.g.., the belief that vaccination will provide a beneficial outcome) were the only significant predictor of HPV vaccination intention in the next 6 months. Perceived norms, motivations to comply with norms, attitudes towards the HPV vaccine, and self-efficacy were not significant predictors of HPV vaccination intentions.

This study investigates the consumers' intention towards Internet shopping. The Theory of Planned Behavior is used to predict behavioral intention (BI), which is a function of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). The effects of demographic and personal variables on BI are also examined. Data analysis (n = 303) indicates that attitude, subjective norm, perceptions of behavioral controls, and previous purchases are significant predictors of behavioral intention. Product/Convenience, Customer Service (attitude factors), Purchase and Delivery, Promotional Offers, Product Attribute (factors of PBC), subjective norm, hours spent online, money spent online, and previous purchases discriminate respondents of high BI from low BI. Behavioral intention of shopping online is highest for Specialty Products followed by Personal, Information Intensive, and Household Products.

The beneficial of keeping a dog and the booming Chinese pet dog market allowed many Chinese people considering owning a dog. However, how owners treat their dogs are extremely different. Some of them consider dogs as their child while others think dogs are just objects with special function. These different attitude leads to dog owners’ different consumption intention towards dog-related products and services. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the dog owner’s intention of buying or keeping a dog in China. The theory of planned behavior was used to analyzed in this thesis. The goal was to figure out the factors that influence owners’ intention of buying or keeping a dog. To investigate our purpose, the qualitative method with eleven semi-interviews were conducted in this thesis, and we analyzed the data using the method of qualitative content analysis. The results were shown from attitude, subject norm and perceived behavior, which comes from the theory of planned behavior.