The oral hygiene eco-friendly intentions of generation Y and why?

Abstract

Aim: (1) To determine whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour Model (TPB) can explain intention (INT) and purchasing behaviour of eco-friendly dental products (BEHD) of Generation Y effectively. (2) To investigate the effect of awareness (AWA) and knowledge of environmental conservation (KNOW) on BEHD of Generation Y residing in Hong Kong. Methods: A questionnaire targeting Generation Y was distributed online. The questions were based on TPB in relation to recycling – which included the determinants: Subjective Norms (SN), Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) and Attitude (ATT). Other subjects were KNOW, INT and AWA. Data was analysed by using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v23.0. Results: 504 responses were obtained. There was a highly significant and positive correlation between the TPB determinants and recycling behaviour (BEH). BEH was also significantly and positively correlated with BEHD (0.006). The investigation confirmed that INT is strongly linked with BEHD (0.001) and that BEHD is affected by TPB recycling determinants and awareness (0.001). BEHD is affected by demographics to some extent. Knowledge had a weak correlation with INT, however, appeared to affect SN (0.111, 0.022) and ATT (0.112, 0.027). Conclusion: TPB can effectively explain BEH and BEHD. As hypothesised, BEH and BEHD were strongly associated with AWA. Furthermore, although KNOW had a weak relationship with BEHD and BEH, it is strongly linked with some TPB determinants, hence suggesting KNOW is still useful in encouraging both BEH and BEHD.