THE APPLICABILITY OF THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR TO THE INTENTION TO QUIT SMOKING ACROSS WORKPLACES IN SOUTHERN TAIWAN

An examination of the applicability of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to the intention to quit smoking across workplaces was conducted . Subjects were randomly selected from three workplaces in southern Ta iwan. Those from a large public steel-manufacturing company were used for model building, and those from two private auto-parts-manufacturin g companies served to cross-validate the model. Eligible subjects were divided into three study samples: a learning sample and two test samp les. Three predictors-priority of quitting, past behavior (measured as previous quit attempt), and habit (measured as nicotine dependence)-w ere added to the TPB model. The results of this study show that TPB ba sed on the learning sample fit well in another sample from the same wo rkplace but poorly in other workplaces. When priority of quitting and past behavior were added to the TPB model, prediction to other workpla ces significantly improved. Habit had no significant contribution to t he intention to quit in the TPB model. Detailed discussions of the res ults are provided. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.