Validation of feeling, belief, and intention to act as three components of attitude and their contribution to prediction of contraceptive behavior.

Using attitude toward birth control as the issue an attempt was made to establish whether feeling belief and intention to act are 3 separate components of global attitude structure and to determine the contribution of these components to prediction of contraceptive behavior. 4 verbal measures of each component were independently constructed using the techniques of Thurstone equal-appearing intervals Likert summated ratings Guttman scalogram analysis and Guilford self-rating. The scales were developed by interviewing 2 random samples of 32-36 users and 32-36 nonusers of contraceptives among low-income married Negro women (15-45 years) who were residents of North Carolina public housing projects. Administration of the 12 scales on 50 users and 50 nonusers of the same ethnic group yielded a 12 x 12 multitrait-multimethod correlational matrix. 2 factor analysis of the matrix identified 3 factors - feeling belief and intention to act - which although correlated were shown to possess convergent and discriminant validities as predicted by the first hypothesis. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis performed to determine the best predictor of behavior supported a second hypothesis: verbal measures of intention to act were better predictors of behavior than either the feeling or the belief verbal measures. Implications of this finding for prediction and control of behavior and for educational programs are considered. The sensitivity of each method of measurement is discussed.(Authors modified)