Analysis of Chinese pupils' intents in using bioenergy through the application of structural equation modeling approach

The present study, based on the structural equation modeling approach and with the help of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), analyzed Chinese pupils' bioenergy related behavioral intentions. Total 453 high school students participated in the study from three Chinese cities. Two structural models were constructed - a standard TPB model with the constructs attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention, and an extended TPB model with additional constructs of anthropocentric and biocentric beliefs. Result showed that the predictor attitude had positive and the strongest effect on the Chinese students' intents in using bioenergy. The effects of the other TPB predictors and the additional belief constructs were of insignificance. It is concluded that positive attitudes among the Chinese students related to bioenergy could influence their plans to adopt bioenergy in the future. Therefore, the Chinese educators and energy policy makers should consider these findings to improve students' awareness and attitudes concerning bioenergy in China. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.