Investigation and Prediction Analysis of Household Electrical Protection Behavior using the developed theory of planned behavior (Case study: Rural households in Khuzestan province)

Abstract
Today, with the increase in population and due to the expansion of the electricity network to the rural and the increase in the number of consumers, electricity protection behaviors and saving electricity consumption are of great importance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavior of rural households in Khuzestan province using the developed theory of planned behavior towards electricity protection. The statistical population of the study consists of rural households in Baghmalek and Hamidiyeh counties in Khuzestan province (N = 8450). Using Cochran's formula, a sample of 440 households was determined and households were selected by multi-stage random cluster sampling. The data collection tool was a questionnaire whose face validity was confirmed by experts including two groups of faculty members of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Education and experts of the Water and Electricity Organization. In addition, to determine the reliability of different parts of the questionnaire, pre-test and calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used, which was between 0.71 to 0.95 and was confirmed. . The results of structural equation model analysis showed that the variables of self-identity, attitude, moral norm and subjective norm are variables affecting the behavioral intention of rural households in a positive and direct manner and behavior in a positive and indirect way and these variables were finally able to predict 51 and 45% of the changes in the variables of behavioral intention and behavior of rural households to protect household electricity, respectively.
Key words: Protection of electricity, rural households, behavior, theory of planned behavior
Extended Abstr
1. Introduction
Today, the environmental issues caused by the use of fossil fuels, global warming and threats to biodiversity, the rapid increase in population and economic growth around the world in the past decades, and also due to the expansion of the electricity network to villages and with the increase in the number of consumers, electricity consumption in the household sector has been increasing at an incredible rate. Energy shortage is a limitation that hinders socio-economic development, because energy indirectly plays an important role in the eradication of poverty, raising the living standards and the economy. That's why energy access, especially access to modern energy sources such as the electricity that are crucial for the development, has a close link with the economic development and reducing energy poverty is a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, optimal consumption or saving the energy of electricity results in more people to have access to this important factor of development. The first step in achieving this goal is to know the current consumption behavior of households and to know it determining factors. Since there has been no study in this field in Iran, this research intends to examine this important issue in Iran. On the other hand, since according to our knowledge, most of the research done in other parts of the world has been done in urban areas. This research seeks to examine the current consumption behavior of households and answer the question of what factors increase household electricity saving or consumption behavior in rural households. different theories and models have been used in different studies to review and assess the consumption behavior. In this study, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) has been used in order to investigate the protective behavior of villagers on household electricity consumption.
2. Methodology
This study was designed and implemented with the aim of analyzing the conservation behavior of rural households in Khouzestan Province regarding the electricity consumption. The research method is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of method of data collection. The statistical population of the study includes rural households of Hamidieh and Baghmalek Cities in Khouzestan Province (N = 8450). 440 households were selected as the sample of the study based multi-stage random cluster sampling. In this research, data collection procedure was conducted using a questionnaire. In order to design a measuring tool, it was attempted to study and examine the scales designed for this purpose (the theory of planned behavior and its related structures). After determining the population and understanding the area under study and by doing a pilot study and completing 40 questionnaires out of these two towns and analyzing its results, the necessary amendments were made in the measuring tool. Finally, the data obtained was described and analyzed using statistical software SPSS (V20). In this study, appropriate tests were used in the fields of descriptive and inferential statistics.
3. Results
The results showed that the variables of self-identity (Beta=0.45, P<0.001), attitude (Beta=0.19, P<0.001), moral norm (Beta=0.19, P<0.001) and norm Subjective (Beta=0.16, P<0.001) have a positive, direct and significant effect on the behavioral intention variable, and the identity variable itself has a stronger effect than other variables. These four variables together are able to account for 51% of the changes Predict the variable of behavioral intention. Also, the behavioral intention variable (Beta=0.67, P<0.001) had a direct and significant positive effect on behavior.
4. Discussion
The rapid increase in human population and rapidly increasing pace of energy in the past three decades has made saving energy as an important issue. Several studies have shown that the energy consumption of households is increasing due to technological developments, economic growth, demographic factors, institutional factors, cultural events, etc.
5. Conclusion
This research has provided important implications for saving electricity. In the first stage, due to the importance of the moral norm on the electricity conservation behavior of rural households, it is possible to create national and local education and advertising programs for households on saving household electricity consumption.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the support provided by the Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Iran.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declared no conflicts of interest