The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #65453

Mark A Franklin, DPA, Public Administration, Indiana State University, 200 North Seventh Street, Terre Haute, IN 47809-9989, 217-483-6110, marcoparko@earthlink.net

This study was based upon Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1975,1980) Theory of Reasoned Action and identified Illinois Legislators’ behavioral intentions regarding voting in the dispersal of Illinois tobacco settlement money and determined the best predictor in the formation of those specific behavioral intentions. This research also addressed whether legislators’ personal factors, such as levels of tobacco usage, cessation methods and stated priorities for funding allocations, played a role in the voting decision process.

All 177 members of the 92nd Illinois General Assembly were asked to participate in the survey; 42 members responded. The author designed the instrument used in this study.

Pearson r correlation coefficients were calculated for the independent variables attitude, outcome expectation, evaluation of outcome expectation, subjective norm, salient referents, motivation to comply with salient referents, and age at onset of smoking for those who smoke or have smoked in the past, and the dependent variable behavioral intention to vote in favor of spending the majority of tobacco settlement monies on health related issues. Attitude was the best predictor of behavioral intention with a correlation of r = .820, p = .000. Subjective norm was moderately positively correlated with behavioral intention. Past tobacco users were more likely to vote for settlement monies to be spent on health related issues than current tobacco users. Non-smokers were more likely to intend to vote favorably for the tobacco settlement monies to be spent on health issues than either past users, or current users.

Learning Objectives:

• Learning Objectives: Upon completion attendees should recognize that legislators’ see themselves as leaders who rely on their own perceptions of and evaluations of expected outcomes. Therefore lobbying should focus on these and factors personally affecting legislators to drive home the importance of spending tobacco settlement monies for tobacco related interventions.

Keywords: Tobacco Policy,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.