Explaining the influence of internalized religious identity on health behaviour by the theory of planned behaviour

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to explain the pathway through which religion influences intention to lead a healthy lifestyle. The study suggested that when religious beliefs that promote healthy behaviour are instilled and become internalized as part of the self-identity, a person’s intention to perform such healthy behaviour would become more likely as beliefs that make up the self-identity are reflected as one’s attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control towards that healthy behaviour. A questionnaire consisting of scales that measured the saliency of internalized identity, the TPB model and underlying beliefs was completed by 109 Catholic and 106 Protestant participants. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to identify the direct influence of internalized identity as well as the indirect influence on intention as mediated by the TPB global constructs. Direct influence of internalized identity on intention was found for the Protestant sample and not for the Catholic sample but there was no mediational relationship identified for either sample. The validity of the TPB model in predicting behavioural intention was partially supported by both samples. Direct influence of internalized identity on intention was found for the Protestant sample but no conclusive evidence supporting the proposed mediation of internalized identity by TPB global constructs could be drawn from the present study. Normative belief was a significant predictor of subjective norm for both samples. The feeling of authenticity, awareness, being responsible for one’s health and self-regulatory control were found to be salient beliefs underlying one’s self-identity. Given the inconsistent findings between the two samples, further studies are required to investigate the role of religion and self-identity in influencing behavioural intention.