Understanding Walking Behavior among University Students Using Theory of Planned Behavior

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Guibo Sun²  Ransford A. Acheampong¹  Hui Lin²  Vivian C. Pun³ 

[1] Lab of Interdisciplinary Spatial Analysis, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 19 Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EP, UK; E-Mail:;Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, FYT Bldg., CUHK, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China; E-Mail:;Department of Health Sciences, Northeast University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: theory of planned behavior;    walking behavior;    walking diary;    salient belief elicitation;    geographic information system;    Hong Kong;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph121113794

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Walking has been shown to improve physical and mental well-being, yet insufficient walking among university students has been increasingly reported. This study aimed to understand walking behavior of university students using theory of planned behavior (TPB). We recruited 169 undergraduate students by university mass email of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and first administered a salient belief elicitation survey, which was used to design the TPB questionnaire, to a subset of the study sample. Secondly, all participants completed the TPB questionnaire and walking-oriented diary in a two-day period in December 2012. We mapped the walking behavior data obtained from the diary using geographic information system, and examined the extent to which TPB constructs explained walking intentions and walking behavior using Structural equation model (SEM). We found perceived behavioral control to be the key determinant of walking intention. Shaped by participants’ perceived behavioral control, attitude toward walking and subjective norms, and behavioral intention, in turn had a moderate explanatory effect on their walking behavior. In summary, our findings suggest that walking behavior among university students can be understood within the TPB framework, and could inform walking promotion interventions on the university campuses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.