Determinants of intention to quit smoking among Dutch employees: The influence of the social environment

Background. This study examines the influence of the social environment in worksites on employees' intention to quit smoking by applying the attitude-social influence-efficacy model. Methods. Regression analyses were conducted with 509 smoking employees from eight Dutch worksites. Variables of interest were attitudes toward smoking, perceived social pressure to quit, perceived smoking behavior of others, self-efficacy, demographics, smoking history variables, company type, and smoking tolerance. Results. Attitude, social pressure from people outside the worksetting (partner, children), and self-efficacy explained 23% of the variance for intention. Past behavior increased the adjusted R(2) from 0.23 to 0.29. Social influences in the worksite were unrelated to employees' intention to quit smoking. Conclusions. It was concluded that, in Dutch worksites, social influences stemming from people at work have less influence on employees' intention to quit smoking than other important people outside the work situation. Implications for smoking control strategies in worksites are briefly discussed. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.