Effects of socio-structural variables in the theory of planned
behavior: a mediation model in multiple samples and
behaviors
Author
Hagger, Martin S, Hamilton, Kyra
Published
2020
Journal Title
Psychology & Health
Version
Accepted Manuscript (AM)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1784420
Copyright Statement
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Psychology
& Health, 01 Jul 2020, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: https://
doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1784420
Downloaded from
http://hdl.handle.net/10072/398083
Griffith Research Online
https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au
Running head: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR 1
Effects of Socio-Structural Variables in the Theory of Planned Behavior: A Mediation Model
in Multiple Samples and Behaviors
Martin S. Hagger
University of California, Merced and University of Jyväskylä
Kyra Hamilton
Griffith University
Author Note
Martin S. Hagger, Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, USA and
Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Kyra
Hamilton, School of Applied Psychology, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith
University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Datasets used in the current study were primarily collected by members of the Health
and Psychology Innovations (HaPI) lab.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Martin S. Hagger, Social
and Health Psychology Behavioral Research for Prevention and Promotion (SHARPP) Lab,
Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 N. Lake Rd., Merced, CA
95343, USA.
Full citation
Hagger, M. S., & Hamilton, K. (2020). Effects of socio-structural variables in the theory of
planned behavior: A mediation model in multiple samples and behaviors. Psychology &
Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1784420
Data Availability Statement
Study materials, data files, data analysis scripts, and analysis output presented in this
manuscript can be found at https://osf.io/zhbq6.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
Preparation of this manuscript was supported by a Finnish Distinguished Professor
(FiDiPro) grant awarded to Martin S. Hagger from Business Finland (Grant #1801/31/2015).
Running head: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR 2
Abstract
Objective. Observed variation in health behavior may be attributable to socio-structural variables
that represent inequality. We tested the hypothesis that variability related to socio-structural
variables may be linked to variation in social cognition determinants of health behavior. A
proposed model in which effects of socio-structural variables (age, education level, gender,
income) on health behavior participation was mediated by social cognition constructs was tested.
Design. Model effects were tested in correlational datasets (k=13) in different health behaviors,
populations, and contexts. Samples included self-report measures of age, highest attained
education level, gender, and net household income, and constructs from the theory of planned
behavior (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention). Ten samples
provided follow-up self-reports of health behavior. Results. Path analyses supported sample-
specific indirect effects of gender and age on health behavior with comparatively few income and
education level effects. Meta-analytic structural equation modeling indicated consistent indirect
and total effects of gender on intentions and health behavior through social cognition constructs,
and a total effect of education level on behavior. Conclusion. Results provide support for the
proposed mechanism by which socio-structural variables relate to health behavior. Replication in
large representative samples and meta-analytic synthesis across multiple health behavior studies
is warranted.
Keywords. Health behavior determinants; Social cognition theory; Health-related behavior;
Intention; Attitude.
Running head: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR 3
Introduction
Epidemiological research linking participation in a suite of health-related behaviors with
reduced risk of non-communicable chronic diseases (Ford, Bergmann, Boeing, Li, & Capewell,
2012; Khaw et al., 2008) has compelled governments and health organizations to develop
guidelines for the recommended levels of these behaviors to promote optimal health and prevent
chronic disease (e.g., Byers et al., 2002), and advocate the development of behavioral
interventions aimed at promoting participation in these behaviors at guideline levels in the
population (e.g., Yang, Yang, Zhu, & Qiu, 2011). Central to the development of effective
behavioral interventions is the identification of modifiable determinants of participation in health
behavior, and the processes by which they relate to behavior (Hagger, Moyers, McAnally, &
McKinley, 2020; Sheeran, Klein, & Rothman, 2017; Suls et al., 2020). Such determinants and
processes then become targets for intervention using behavior change methods or techniques that
form the content of behavioral interventions. The application of behavioral theories, such as
social cognition and motivational theories, has proven useful as means to identify determinants
and provide a priori predictions on how those determinants relate to health behaviors (Glanz &
Bishop, 2010; Hagger, Cameron et al., 2020a; Hardcastle et al., 2017; Johnson & Acabchuk,
2018). Such theories focus on constructs such as beliefs, attitudes, norms, and intentions, and
have utility because the constructs are considered eminently modifiable through behavior change
methods like persuasion, social support, experience of success, provision of rationales, and
positive feedback (Hagger, Cameron et al., 2020b). Formative research aimed at applying these
theories to identity potential modifiable constructs as targets for change using behavior change
methods is therefore considered pre-requisite to behavioral intervention development (Hagger,
Cameron, et al., 2020b; Rothman, Klein, & Sheeran, 2020).
Running head: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR 4
The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) is pre-eminent among social cognition
theories that have been applied to predict health behavior. The theory proposes that the most
proximal determinant of a given target behavior is an individual’s stated intention to do so.
Intention is a motivational construct that reflects how much effort an individual is prepared to
invest toward engaging in the behavior in future. Intention is a function of three belief based
constructs: attitudes, positive or negative beliefs toward participating in the target behavior;
subjective norms, beliefs that significant others endorse participation in the behavior; and
perceived behavioral control, beliefs in personal capacity to engage in the behavior. Intentions are
proposed to mediate effects of the belief-based constructs on behavior. The theory has been
applied extensively across multiple health behaviors, contexts, and populations, and has
accounted for substantive variance in behavior and its predictions have held in the presence of
past behavior effects and effects of other constructs such as individual difference and personality
(e.g., Brown et al, 2020; Chatzisarantis et al., 2004; Conner, Rodgers, & Murray, 2007; Conner &
Abraham, 2001; Hagger, Chan et al., 2016; Hagger, Polet et al., 2018; Hamilton, van Dongen et
al., 2020; McEachan et al., 2011; Rich et al., 2015). The attraction of the theory to researchers not
only lies in its predictive power, elegant parsimony, and universal applicability, but also in its
potential to guide intervention (Ajzen & Schmidt, 2020). Researchers and practitioners have
demonstrated that the theory has been effective in guiding behavior change interventions by
developing messages that target change in the component belief-based constructs (e.g., Hamilton
& Johnson, 2020).
The theory of planned behavior and other similar social cognition theories have a heavy
focus on individual determinants of health behavior, and applications of these theories have
tended not to directly consider socio-structural variables as viable determinants in their own right
(Schüz, 2017). This neglects a substantive body of research demonstrating that participation in
