This study examined the relationship between specific factors believed to influence career decision self-efficacy and math/science related goal intentions (proxy for engineering related goal intentions) among African American high school students. Minority students generally tend to be underrepresented in such careers, as indicated by the National…

As more than 70% of individuals in Western societies can be categorized as sedentary and inactivity has been recognized to lead to a series of serious physical and psychological disorders, the importance of physical activity promotion is ever more emphasized. Many social marketing campaigns use threat (or fear) appeals to promote healthy…

A communication framework was developed to examine the influence of maternal use of self-disclosure on adolescent intentions to smoke cigarettes and to engage in sexual intercourse. Data were collected from 516 Dominican and Puerto Rican mother-adolescent dyads. Statistical analyses were conducted in AMOS using structural equation modeling.…

Background: A key aspect of social perception is the interpretation of others' intentions. Children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have difficulty interpreting benign intentions when a negative event occurs. From a cognitive processing perspective, interpreting benign intentions can be challenging because it requires integration of…

According to Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), behavioral intention (BI) is predicted by attitude toward the behavior (AB), subjective norm (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Previous studies using the TPB to explain teachers' intentions to use technology have resulted in inconsistent findings. This inconsistency might be due to…

As most research into attrition and retention has focused on attrition during the first year of studies, we know little about the relationship between students' experience of subsequent years and their decisions to withdraw from university. This paper addresses this gap in research by examining the relationship between students' intention to…

Commencing study through a foreign language in senior secondary school brings huge challenges because of the cognitive-linguistic demands of academic subjects. This paper argues for the need to blend sociocultural and systemic functional linguistic (SFL) perspectives to address this enormous task. Firstly, readers' attention is drawn to the less…

Introduction: A continuing education (CE) program based on the theory of planned behavior was designed to understand and improve health care providers' practice patterns in screening, assessing, and treating and/or referring patients with diabetes for depression treatment. Methods: Participants completed assessments of attitudes, confidence,…

Two studies evaluated whether different purpose orientations, defined by the content of one's life-goals, would differentially predict personal well-being in the short- and long-term. Four types of purpose orientations (creative, prosocial, financial, and personal recognition) were examined using a sample of 416 (57% male) college undergraduates…

Although e-learning has been prompted to various education levels, the intention to continue using such systems is still very low, and the acceptance-discontinuance anomaly phenomenon (i.e., users discontinue using e-learning after initially accepting it) is a common occurrence. This paper synthesizes the expectation-confirmation model (ECM), the…

Objective: To examine the relations of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics's (STEM) self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, and contextual supports and barriers to STEM educational goals in college students with disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds. Design: Quantitative descriptive research design using…

This study examines motivations to quit smoking within the theoretical context of self-theories (Dweck, 2000). It investigates whether self-theories play a significant predictive role in motivating adults to quit smoking. A convenience sample of 197 adult current smokers and ex-smokers in northeast Ohio completed on line or paper versions of the…

A two-stage mixed methods approach was used to examine how foreign correspondents stationed in the United States use World Wide Web technology to maintain their news perspectives remotely. Despite emerging technology playing an increasingly significant role in the production of international journalism, the subject under investigation has been…

Typically adolescents' friends are considered a risk factor for adolescent engagement in risk-taking. This study took a more novel approach, by examining adolescent friendship as a protective factor. In particular it investigated friends' potential to intervene to reduce risk-taking. Five-hundred-forty adolescents (mean age 13.47 years) were asked…

Adults who act as gatekeepers for young people may have the same barriers to help-seeking for mental health issues as young people. This study investigated the personal help-seeking practices of 47 Australian youth workers prior to and after a training workshop on youth mental health issues. Pre-post workshop evaluation revealed some increases in…