Predicting university students' intention to apply investment strategies: Integrating theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory

Behavioral intention is central to investment-related decision making, but belief-based predictors and motivational need satisfaction should not be conflated. This quantitative cross-sectional study examined 512 undergraduate students in Jiangxi Province, China, drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Multiple regression tested attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as predictors of intention to apply investment strategies; descriptive statistics and correlations separately characterised autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The TPB model explained 55.2% of the variance in intention. All three TPB predictors were statistically significant, with perceived behavioral control having the largest unstandardized coefficient (B = 0.36, p < .001). The SDT constructs had moderately high means and positive intercorrelations (r = 0.68-0.73), describing a motivational profile rather than a tested contribution to intention. The two-item subjective norm measure showed modest reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.584), requiring caution in interpreting its coefficient. Demographic characteristics were available for 310 respondents because institutional permissions differed, limiting assessment of the representativeness of the full analytical sample. No SDT-to-intention paths or incremental effects beyond TPB were estimated; thus, the proposed TPB-SDT integration is theoretical and interpretive, not a statistically validated joint model. The study contributes a transparent distinction between proximal TPB predictors and complementary SDT-related motivational experiences in university investment learning, while identifying the need for future joint predictive and longitudinal tests.