The link between frequent red meat consumption and the risk of developing health issues emerged in several scholarly studies and epidemiological data. Consequently, it seems relevant to deepen the investigation of psychosocial factors influencing people’s willingness to reduce their red meat intake to, as a notable example, the target of no more than 100g per week, namely the amount recommended by the Mediterranean Diet. The present study explored the antecedents of this target behavior by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB, Ajzen, 1991) with anticipated negative and positive emotions as additional determinants of intention. Indeed, the impact of emotions on eating is well understood and widely researched, even if results are mixed. However, it is still overlooked which emotions may influence red meat eating. The study was conducted in two waves via online surveys administered to a convenience sample of 723 Italian university students (61% female, Mage = 21.7 years). At T1, participants completed self-reported measures of all independent variables and their intention to eat a maximum of 100g of red meat per week in the upcoming month. At T2, after about four weeks, participants were asked to declare their red meat consumption in the previous month. The relation model tested via SEM explained 69% and 23% of the variance in intention at T1 and behavior at T2, respectively. Cognitive attitude, subjective norm, PBC, and positive and negative emotions were positively associated with intention. Then, intention and PBC showed negative relationships to the amount of red meat intake at T2. If our results mainly support the usefulness of the TPB framework applied to healthy behaviors and prevention of health issues, they also showed that positive and negative emotions connected to the target behavior could be a promising way to develop effective interventions promoting salubrious and sustainable eating styles.
Anticipated emotions in the Theory of Planned Behavior: a study on the reduction of red meat consumption among university students
Erica Frosini
;Luigina Canova;Andrea Bobbio
2025
Abstract
The link between frequent red meat consumption and the risk of developing health issues emerged in several scholarly studies and epidemiological data. Consequently, it seems relevant to deepen the investigation of psychosocial factors influencing people’s willingness to reduce their red meat intake to, as a notable example, the target of no more than 100g per week, namely the amount recommended by the Mediterranean Diet. The present study explored the antecedents of this target behavior by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB, Ajzen, 1991) with anticipated negative and positive emotions as additional determinants of intention. Indeed, the impact of emotions on eating is well understood and widely researched, even if results are mixed. However, it is still overlooked which emotions may influence red meat eating. The study was conducted in two waves via online surveys administered to a convenience sample of 723 Italian university students (61% female, Mage = 21.7 years). At T1, participants completed self-reported measures of all independent variables and their intention to eat a maximum of 100g of red meat per week in the upcoming month. At T2, after about four weeks, participants were asked to declare their red meat consumption in the previous month. The relation model tested via SEM explained 69% and 23% of the variance in intention at T1 and behavior at T2, respectively. Cognitive attitude, subjective norm, PBC, and positive and negative emotions were positively associated with intention. Then, intention and PBC showed negative relationships to the amount of red meat intake at T2. If our results mainly support the usefulness of the TPB framework applied to healthy behaviors and prevention of health issues, they also showed that positive and negative emotions connected to the target behavior could be a promising way to develop effective interventions promoting salubrious and sustainable eating styles.
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