Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to study pregnant women's beliefs, attitude, subjective norms, behavioral intentions and behaviors in mothers' infant feeding according to the Theory of Reasoned Action of Fishbein and Ajzen. The instrument in this research was the questionnaire on attitudes, subjective norms, behavioral intentions and behaviors in infant feeding. The reliability of various parts of the questionnaire were in the range of .63 to .89. The sample included three hundred and tow nine-month pregnant women who attended the antenatal clinic at Siriraj Hospital. From these mothers, one hundred and ninety five reported their infant's feeding practice during the period of one month after delivery. The data were analysed by using Pearson's correlation and the multiple regression. The results indicate that : 1. Mothers' attitudes toward infant feeding behavior significantly (r = .33, P < .001) correlate with the sums of the products between behavioral beliefs and the corresponding evaluation of consequences. 2 Mothers' subjective norms concerning infant feeding behavior significantly (r = .42, P < .001) correlate with the sums of the products between normative beliefs and the corresponding motivations to comply. 3. Mothers' attitudes toward infant feeding behavior and subjective norms concerning infant feeding behavior, together, can significantly (r = .34, P < .001) predict mothers' infant feeding behavioral intentions. Moreover, attitudes influence behavioral intentions more than subjective norms (W₁ = .28, W₂ = .11). 4. Mothers' infant feeding intentions can significantly (r = .12, P < .05) predict mothers' infant feeding behaviors.