PREDICTING TESTICULAR AND BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION BEHAVIOR - A TEST OF THE THEORY OF REASONED ACTION

One aim of this study was to describe attitudes, beliefs, and behaviou rs concerned with testicular and breast self-examination (TSE, BSE); t he second was to test the efficacy of the Ajzen and Fishbein theory of reasoned action in predicting self-examination behaviour. Participant s comprised 116 male adults with a mean age of 27.9, and 141 female ad ults with a mean age of 30.0 years. The sample was relatively well-edu cated, with over half having engaged in some tertiary studies. They co mpleted a questionnaire assessing self-examination behaviours, intenti ons, beliefs, attitudes, and perceived norms. Results indicated low ra tes of self-examination for both TSE and BSE. Barriers to self-examina tion included embarrassment, perceived unpleasantness and difficulty, concern about reliability, and worries about what the tests might reve al. Respondents perceived only moderate levels of support from salient others for engaging in the self-examinations. The theory of reasoned action was strongly supported by the study, with intentions to perform self-examination being predicted by attitudes and subjective norms, a nd intentions in turn predicting self-examination behaviours.