Organ Donation Decision Making Among Non-Catholic Christians: An Expansion of the Theory of Planned Behavior

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Erin Dobbins (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Denise Martz

Abstract: According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (2012), 112,264 people are on the waiting list for an organ transplant in the United States. The gap between patients and donors continues to expand. There is a need for research and intervention aimed at closing this gap. Religion is both a barrier to and facilitator of organ donation; this paradoxical relationship was investigated in a sample non-Catholic Christian university students (N = 176). The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to predict intentions to donate. A model including moral norm, religious attitudes toward organ donation, and affective attitudes was proposed to address domain and population specific predictors of intentions. Participants reported positive intentions (M = 6.06 on a 7-point scale). Controlling for past behaviors, the TPB significantly predicted intentions (R2=.30, F(3, 144) =5.56, p<.001). Three additional components provided a marginally significant increase in predictive power (R2=.47, F(4, 140)=2.35, p=.06). Moral norm accounted for unique variance (p=.03) but other additional measures did not (ps>.35), suggesting its importance in donation behaviors and supporting its inclusion in future research on intentions. The final model included attitudes, subjective norms, and moral norms accounting for 47% (R2 = .05) of the variance in participant’s intentions.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Dobbins, E. (2013). Organ Donation Decision Making Among Non-Catholic Christians: An Expansion of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Unpublished master’s thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2013
Keywords
Theory of Planned Behavior, Organ Donation, Religion, Moral Norms, Affect

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