Promoting users’ smartphone avoidance intention: the role of health beliefs

Abstract

PurposeDrawing on the Health Belief Model (HBM), this study aims to investigate the roles of health beliefs (i.e. perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, health self-efficacy and cues to action) in promoting college students’ smartphone avoidance intention.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were collected through a cross-sectional survey questionnaire administered to 4,670 student smartphone users at a large university located in Central China. Further, a two-step Structural Equation Modeling was conducted using AMOS 22.0 software to test the hypothesized relationships in the research model.FindingsAnalytical results indicate that (1) perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits and health self-efficacy positively influence users’ smartphone avoidance intention; (2) perceived barriers negatively influence smartphone avoidance intention, while (3) cues to action reinforce the relationships between perceived susceptibility/perceived benefits and smartphone avoidance intention, but attenuate the relationships between perceived barriers/health self-efficacy and smartphone avoidance intention.Research limitations/implicationsThis study demonstrates that HBM is invaluable in explaining and promoting users’ smartphone avoidance intention, thereby extending extant literature on both HBM and smartphone avoidance.Originality/valueResearch on smartphone avoidance is still in a nascent stage. This study contributes to the field by offering a fresh theoretical lens for pursuing this line of inquiry together with robust empirical evidence.

Factors Influencing the Purchase Intention for Online Health Popular Science Information Based on the Health Belief Model

“…For example, studies show that perceived susceptibility and perceived severity among health belief-related variables can significantly influence users to share as well as seek health popular science information on the Internet [ 40 , 41 ]. Studies have also explored the influences that promote users’ smartphone avoidance intentions, based on the HBM [ 42 ]. The health belief model is also a good explanation for adolescents’ Internet addiction behaviors [ 43 ].…”