Determining factors affecting mother's behaviour in stunting prevention in rural Madura, Indonesia

Stunting is one of the consequences of chronic malnutrition whose prevalence continues to increase in Indonesia. This study used an observational analytical approach to develop a model of mother behaviour in stunting prevention in children. The population consisted of 215 mothers who had children aged 0-24 months. The variables included assessment of behavioural beliefs, behaviour outcomes, attitudes, demographics, perceived control, and intentions. The SEM-smartPLS4 was used for the analysis. The validity test results indicate that the values for Cronbach's alpha and Composite Reliability (C.R) are above 0.7, and the value for Average Variance Extracted (AVE) is above 0.50, indicating that all indicators are valid and reliable. The results revealed that a mother’s behaviour in stunting prevention is directly influenced by her intention, whereas mother's intentions are influenced by attitudes, demography, and perceived control. We conclude that a mother who has high intentions to prevent stunting will be able to practice it because of having a positive attitude and a good perceived control. Behavioural intentions have been identified as the mediating variable of the transformation of behavioural attitudes into treatment, which is consistent with the TPB theory and other research on physician behaviour. In other words, intent can serve not only as an internal driving process of attitude, but also as a condition of preparation for behaviour.