The determinants of recycling intention behavior among the Malaysian school students: an application of theory of planned behaviour

Abstract

In Malaysia, recycling program has been widely initiated since 1993. However, to date the recycling rate in Malaysia is only five percent, hi this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used to investigate the antecedents of recycling intention behaviour among secondary school students. TPB hypothesizes that the immediate determinant is the individual's intention to perform or not to perform that behaviour. Hypothetically, there are three factors that influenced the intention behaviour namely specific attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. The sample consists of 400 randomly selected Form Four students. A two-step modeling approach including confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to assess measurement model fit and causal relationship between factors. The structural model was tested using AMOS. The proposed model was evaluated but demonstrated poor model fit which lead to subsequent modification of the model. The result shows that perceived behaviour control was the strongest predictor of intention behaviour (P=0.687). Subjective norms, to a lesser degree, was also an important predictor of intention behaviour (P=0.593). Meanwhile, the analysis also shows that specific attitudes were indirect predictor of intention behaviour, via the mediation of subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.