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. 2020 Feb 2;17(3):923.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030923.

Assessing Related Factors of Intention to Perpetrate Dating Violence among University Students Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

Wen-Li Hou  1   2 , Chung-Ying Lin  3 , Yu-Ming Wang  4 , Ying-Hua Tseng  1 , Bih-Ching Shu  5
Affiliations

Assessing Related Factors of Intention to Perpetrate Dating Violence among University Students Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

Wen-Li Hou et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Dating violence (DV) is a major public health problem among youth. The majority of DV studies in Taiwan involve the assessment of DV without the use of a robust psychological framework to guide research accuracy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to utilize the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to assess intention and other salient factors related to DV among university students. A two-phase, mixed-method design study was conducted among university students from seven universities in Taiwan, aged 18 to 24 years. In Phase I, questionnaires used were specifically developed based on the TPB, consisting of both direct and indirect measures related to DV. In Phase Ⅱ, questionnaire evaluation and related factors were examined through a two-step process of structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the TPB model. The results of this study found that perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and attitude toward DV on behavioral intention accounting for 37.5% of the total variance. Among the related factors, attitude toward the behavior was the strongest (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), followed by perceived behavioral control (β = 0.19, p < 0.05). Findings from this study could expand the knowledge base in this important area and might help prevent DV.

Keywords: dating violence; intention; structural equation modelling (SEM); theory of planned behavior (TPB).; university student.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical framework for intention to perpetrate dating violence based on the Theory of Planed Behavior [39].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results for proposed path of the TPB model of the intention to perpetrate DV; *** p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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