Intentions to Participate in Counselling among Front Line, At-Risk Irish Government Employees – An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Hyland, Philip, McLaughlin, Chris, Boduszek, Daniel and Prentice, Garry (2012) Intentions to Participate in Counselling among Front Line, At-Risk Irish Government Employees – An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 40 (3). pp. 279-299. ISSN 0306-9885

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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=259) 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 counselling-seeking behaviour.

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