Factors Predicting the Intention to Perform Prevention Behaviors for Coronavirus 2019 among Junior High School Students

Abstract

While the immediate danger of COVID-19 has decreased, emerging infectious diseases remain a global concern. As restrictions ease, maintaining preventive behaviors like wearing masks,practicing hand hygiene, and maintaining social distancing becomes increasingly challenging,especially among younger populations. Adolescents who are often asymptomatic may act as disease carriers and may become less vigilant about preventive practices, potentially spreading the infection to others in their families and communities through transmissions within schools. Adolescents in junior high school represent a critical group for interventions. They are at a developmental stage where habits and attitudes toward health behaviors are formed, making them an ideal target for reinforcing long-term preventive practices. Moreover, schools serve as high-contact environments where infectious diseases can spread rapidly. Understanding the factors that influence adolescents who are junior high school students to continue practicing preventive behaviors is essential for long-term preparedness for future pandemics.This predictive correlational study aimed to investigate the ability of study variables,including attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls, to predict the intention to perform preventive behaviors for COVID-19 among junior high school students. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used as a conceptual framework for this study. Three key factors, which consist of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, play a crucial role in shaping intention and, in the end, behavior. Attitudes refer to students’ evaluations of preventive measures. If students perceive these behaviors as valuable and efficient, they are increasingly likely to keep practicing them. Subjective norms involve the influence of peers, family, teachers, and society on students’ behavioral choices. Social pressure or encouragement from significant others can shape students’ decisions regarding health behaviors. Perceived behavioral control reflects students’confidence in their ability to engage in preventive measures. If they believe they have the resources and ability to continue these behaviors, they are more likely to do so.The sample consisted of 99 junior high school students who attended a school in the Secondary Education Service Area Office 33, Surin province, during the academic year 2022. The sample was selected through purposive sampling based on the following criteria: age 12-15 years old,proficiency in reading, writing, and listening in the Thai language, willingness to participate in the study, and parental or guardian consent. The sample size was calculated using the G*Power program based on the multiple regression analysis formula. The effect size was set at 0.15, the test power at 0.80, and the significance level at 0.05, resulting in a sample size of 77 participants. The researchers increased the sample size by approximately 30% to account for any incomplete data. Therefore, the total sample was 99 students. The research instruments included the Demographic Data Record Form,the Attitude Questionnaire, the Subjective Norms Questionnaire, the Perceived Behavioral Control,and the Intention Questionnaire. All instruments were developed by Park and Oh and then were translated into Thai using the back-translation technique. Data were collected from February to March 2023 through on-site data collection and analyzed using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression analysis.The results showed that most of the sample were female and their age ranged from 12 to 15 years, with an average age of 13.85 (SD = 1.04). Most participants had prior knowledge about the COVID-19 infection and had experience accessing information about COVID-19 provided by national-level organizations. Additionally, most of the sample had experiences related to self-isolation due to COVID-19. The mean scores of variables indicated a positive attitude towards coronavirus 2019 infection prevention behaviors, good subjective norms, a high level of perceived behavioral control, and a high level of intention to perform prevention behaviors among the sample. The correlational analysis results indicate that intention is positively and significantly correlated with all three predictor variables. Perceived behavioral control exhibit the strongest correlation with Intention (r = .64, p < .001), followed by subjective norms (r = .52,p < .001). The weakest correlation is observed between attitude and intention (r = .41, p <.001).Attitudes and perceived behavioral control can collectively predict the intention to perform prevention behaviors for COVID-19 at a statistically significant level of 43.9% (R2=.44, p-value=.027). However, subjective norms do not predict the intention to perform prevention behaviors.This suggests that while subjective norms influenced how participants felt about social distancing,they did not directly translate into behavioral intentions. The baseline questionnaire on subjective norms showed that items related to reference figures like teachers, schools, and parents, had the highest average scores, while peer-related items had the lowest.This study’s findings can inform school-based health education programs that focus on promoting positive attitudes toward COVID-19 prevention behaviors and enhancing perceived behavioral control that encourages intention to perform these behaviors. Future research should consider exploring additional variables to better explain the variability in the intention to perform these behaviors.
Keywords: Adolescents, Coronavirus 2019, Intention, Prevention behaviors, Planned behavior