Does the easy-difficult item measure attitude or perceived behavioural control?

Objective In order to determine if easy–difficult item measures attitude or perceived behavioural control (PBC), we used structural equation modelling of 10 cross‐sectional data sets. Design Cross‐sectional design was used. Method. Ten studies that examined health‐related behaviours and used the the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of health psychology 2007-11, Vol.12 (4), p.543-557
Main Authors: Gagné, Camille, Godin, Gaston
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attitude
Attitude tests
Attitudes
Behavior Control
Biological and medical sciences
Confirmatory factor analysis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Difficulty
Discriminant analysis
Discriminant validity
Female
Health behavior
Health behaviour
Humans
Male
Measures
Medical sciences
Meta-Analysis as Topic
Middle Aged
Perceived control
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Quebec
Sexual Behavior
Surveys and Questionnaires
Systematic review
Techniques and methods
Theory of planned behavior
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Summary:Objective In order to determine if easy–difficult item measures attitude or perceived behavioural control (PBC), we used structural equation modelling of 10 cross‐sectional data sets. Design Cross‐sectional design was used. Method. Ten studies that examined health‐related behaviours and used the theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical framework were analysed. Samples totalling N = 4,552 participants were employed. All studies involved multi‐item measures of attitude (Aact) and PBC items derived from pilot testing. Results Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the discriminant validity of Aact and PBC. Structural equation modelling of relevant path indicated that in three studies, easy–difficult item is an indicator of both Aact and PBC. In the other seven studies, easy–difficult item belongs to PBC. The indexes of meta‐analysis suggest that overall, easy–difficult item is an indicator of PBC. Conclusion. Findings from 10 studies converged toward the conclusion that the easy–difficult item is an indicator of perceived PBC. However, since the easy–difficult item is sometimes classified as both Aact and PBC, and only the perceived difficulty dimension of PBC captures a significant increment in the variance of intention, it appears important to develop and validate a set of items devoted to measure the perceived difficulty dimension adequately.
ISSN:1359-107X
2044-8287
DOI:10.1348/135910706X147781