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

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 0259) 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 counsellingseeking behaviour.

A test of the inventory of attitudes towards seeking mental health services

“…These results are generally in-line previous work by Hyland et al (2012). In their analysis applying the TPB, the self-efficacy component of the perceived behavioural control (PBC) factor displayed the strongest predictive influence on intentions to engage in psychological counselling.…”

“…Furthermore, the model was capable of explaining 45% of variance in levels of intentions to engage in counselling. The explanatory power of the IASMHS is consistent with previous investigations employing the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB: Ajzen, 1991) to explain intentions to engage in counselling (Hyland et al, 2012). These results indicate that the IASMHS is a valid method of predicting counselling-seeking behaviours and equal to that of an existing and well validated health behaviour model.…”

“…How favourable and effective one believes psychological counselling to be, one's own belief in their capacity to engage in counselling, and perceptions of subsequent social rejection following counselling attendance, have been identified as particularly influential (e.g., Hyland, McLaughlin, Boduszek, & Prentice, 2012;Vogel & Wester, 2003).…”

Should I stay or should I go? The impact of a sense of control on young men's therapeutic engagement

“…The findings suggest that a relationship exists between a sense of control and the counselling journey. Consistent with the literature for other cohorts in relation to decision‐making and attending therapy (Hyland, Boduszek, Shevlin & Adamson, ; Hyland, McLaughlin, Boduszek & Prentice, ), young men in this study described a need to feel a sense of control when deciding whether to enter a therapeutic relationship.…”

Prisoner intentions to participate in an electronic monitoring scheme: an application of the theory of planned behaviour

“…Previously, the utility of the TPB has been successfully demonstrated; such as exploring intentions to participate in counselling among frontline officers (Hyland et al , 2012), prisoners’ mental health help‐seeking intentions (Skogstad et al , 2006) and HIV‐related behaviours among prisoners (Bryan et al , 2003). However, to date the TPB has not been applied to investigate intentions of prisoners to participate in EM schemes.…”