Antecedents to Information Seeking Behavior: The Role of Prior Experiences on Self-Efficacy.
This study examines how college students conceptualize their previous experiences and abilities with health information seeking in order to predict future health information seeking behavior. Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) is used a framework to address reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy and the relationship between the constructs. Regression analyses were used to show the difference between different types of information sources, including healthcare providers, family, friends, and the Internet.