The role of behavioral, normative and control beliefs in breast self-examination.

Context: A limited number of studies have been conducted examining the role of beliefs in the prediction of breast self-examination (BSE) behavior in Australian women, particularly women under 50 years of age for which it is the primary method of early detection of breast cancer.

Objective: The present research investigated the differences in behavioral, normative and control beliefs between BSE performers and non-performers, within a theory of planned behavior framework, to assist in the development of specific education programs aimed at increasing BSE amongst this demographic group.

Method: Two hundred and fifty-three women enrolled in an undergraduate psychology course completed a questionnaire assessing beliefs regarding BSE. One month later, these women reported their BSE behavior during the previous month. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify belief-based differences between BSE performers and non-performers.

Results: Underlying behavioral and control, but not normative, beliefs about BSE distinguished between BSE performers and non-performers. Performers were more likely than non-performers to believe that engaging in BSE would be associated with identifying a lump or breast change sooner and detecting a breast cancer earlier in its course. Non-performers were more likely to perceive factors such as forgetting to perform the behavior, lack of time, lack of knowledge about how to perform the behavior, laziness, and a lack of confidence in their ability to identify lumps and breast changes as factors preventing their control over the performance of BSE.

Conclusions: The belief-based differences between BSE performers and non-performers found in this study can be used to inform health promotion strategies aimed at increasing BSE behavior in women less than 50 years of age.