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Published Online: 20 February 2013

Predicting Adolescents' Disclosure of Personal Information in Exchange for Commercial Incentives: An Application of an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Publication: Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Volume 16, Issue Number 2

Abstract

This study adopts a global theoretical framework to predict adolescents' disclosure of personal information in exchange for incentives offered by commercial Websites. The study postulates and tests the validity of a model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), including antecedent factors of attitude and perceived behavioral control (PBC). A survey was conducted among 1,042 respondents. Results from SEM analyses show that the hypothesized model fits the empirical data well. The model accounts for 61.9 percent of the variance in adolescents' intention to disclose and 43.7 percent of the variance in self-reported disclosure. Perceived social pressure exerted by significant others (subjective norm) is the most important TPB factor in predicting intention to disclose personal information in exchange for incentives. This finding suggests that in discussions of adolescents' information privacy, the importance of social factors outweighs the individually oriented TPB factors of attitude and PBC. Moreover, privacy concern and trust propensity are significant predictors of respondents' attitudes toward online disclosure in exchange for commercial incentives, whereas the frequency of Internet use significantly affects their level of PBC.

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Published In

cover image Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Volume 16Issue Number 2February 2013
Pages: 81 - 87
PubMed: 23113689

History

Published online: 20 February 2013
Published in print: February 2013
Published ahead of print: 31 October 2012

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Authors

Affiliations

Wannes Heirman
Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Michel Walrave
Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Koen Ponnet
Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.

Notes

Address correspondence to:Wannes Heirman, M.Sc.University of AntwerpSint-Jacobsstraat 22000 AntwerpBelgium
E-mail: [email protected]

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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