At the 2019 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Steven Sylvester, assistant professor in the UVU History and Political Science Department, was awarded the Leonard S. Robins Award for his paper titled, “Just Say No: Attribution Theory and Public Attitudes about Opioid Epidemic.” Every year, this award is given to the author of the best paper in health politics and policy.

“I love all the research that can be done with health policy,” said Sylvester. “It is such an important topic with huge implications in American politics. I felt so honored that the work I put into this paper — alongside my co-authors — was recognized in such a significant way. It’s the first major award any of us have won, so it’s a really big deal.”

Sylvester and his co-authors, Simon Haeder of Penn State and Timothy Callaghan of Texas A&M, started developing the paper in 2018 after receiving a grant from the Office of Sponsored Programs. Their paper examined how people perceive the causes of the opioid epidemic and how those perceptions influence their attitudes toward various policies, both punitive and supportive, designed to combat this ever-growing issue. “I find the opioid epidemic interesting because it is a policy problem that can affect everyone no matter their race, gender, or political leanings,” said Sylvester.

During the course of their research, Sylvester and his partners found that there are a variety of factors — including psychological dispositions, political leanings, religious affiliations, and especially a personal connection to someone affected by opioid addiction — that have a tremendous impact on how individuals view the causes of the opioid epidemic and their subsequent policy preferences. “We hope our work will inform policymakers on approaches they could take to try to tackle the opioid epidemic,” Sylvester said.