Broadening the evidence for the Theory of Planned Behavior: predicting heavy episodic drinking in Argentinean female and male youth
Introduction: Although the Theory of Planned Behavior has successfully been applied to explain heavy episodic drinking, recent reviews have identified gaps in the literature. Among them the role of gender, scarce research from non English speaking countries (and thus, other drinking contexts) and lastly, contradictory results regarding the measures used to evaluate social norms and perceived behavioral control. Objective: We aim to broaden the evidence for the Theory of Planned Behavior by evaluating the capacity of the model to predict heavy episodic drinking in Argentinean female and male youth. Methods: In this study a psychometrically sound measure is used and which evaluates both dimensions of social norms and perceived control. We measured Theory of Planned Behavior variables and last month heavy episodic drinking at two-time frames. Multiple linear and logistic regressions were performed. Results: Attitude was the main predictor of heavy episodic drinking intention; there were gender differences, among women perceived behavioral control and subjective norm were also predictors of heavy episodic drinking intentions. The intention was the main predictor of heavy episodic drinking for both genders, while perceived behavioral control was also a predictor among women. Conclusions: Theory of Planned Behavior allows us to better understand the motivational variables related to heavy episodic drinking intention and performance, and thus, to design appropriate prevention interventions.