The role of social-cognitive variables in motivation to quit smoking is well described for the general population (Hyland et al., 2006; West, McEwen, Bolling, & Owen, 2001) and many specific subpopulations��for example, sellectchem African American smokers (Pederson, Ahluwalia, Harris, & McGrady, 2000)��but similar data are lacking for LGBT persons. Because LGBT persons are stigmatized and prevalence of smoking is high, social-cognitive factors have potential to explain their tobacco use behaviors. Guiding our examination of barriers and facilitators of smoking cessation in LGBT persons, the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) proposes that the proximal determinants of a particular behavior are behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control (see Figure 1).
Intention to perform a given behavior subsumes several factors that influence behavioral enactment. Perceived behavioral control is determined by perceptions of controllability and self-efficacy to enact the behavior. Behavioral intentions are a function of attitudes about the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Subjective norm encompasses perceptions of what important members of the person’s social network think the person should or should not do regarding the behavior, as well as for normative prevalence of the behavior. Attitudes represent the overall evaluation of the behavior and include both cognitive and affective aspects. Prospective studies demonstrate that intentions predict attempts to quit smoking in the general population (Godin, Valois, Lepage, & Desharnais, 1992) as well as in subpopulations (Armitage, 2007; Johnston, Johnston, Pollard, Kinmonth, & Mant, 2004; Norman, Conner, & Bell, 1999).
More positive attitudes, greater perceived social approval by persons in their social network, and greater perceived behavioral control regarding quitting are associated with higher levels of intention, which, in turn, predict quitting or maintaining abstinence (Bennet & Clatworthy, 1999; Borland, Owen, Hill, & Schofield, 1991; Godin et al.; Hanson, 1997; Hu & Lanese, 1998; Maher & Rickwood, 1997; Nguyet, Beland, & Otis, 1998). Attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control account for 26%�C54% of the variance in tobacco use intentions, and each varies in its strength of association with tobacco use intentions across diverse study populations.
Figure 1. Theory of planned behavior. Formative work, or an elicitation study, is recommended in special populations in order to identify specific, salient beliefs (Ajzen, 1991), which may extend the explanatory power of the TPB constructs. Thus, this study had as a primary aim to identify behavioral, normative, and control beliefs that underlie, respectively, the TPB constructs of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control in AV-951 a sample of LGBT smokers.