School-based smoking prevention programs with the promise of long-term effects

I provide a systematic review of trials of school-based smoking prevention programs that had at least 15 sessions, preferably with some in high school, that reported significant short-term effects, and that included long-term follow-up. This is supplemented with a description of some other programs that produce short-term effects that portend large long-term effects. I conclude that school-based programs can have long-term effects of practical importance it they: include 15 or more sessions over multiple years, including some in high school; use the social influence model and interactive delivery methods; include components on norms, commitment not to use, intentions not to use, and training and practice in the use of refusal and other life skills; and use peer leaders in some role. School-based programs of this type can reduce smoking onset by 25–30%, and school plus community programs can reduce smoking onset by 35–40% by the end of high school. Some early childhood programs that do not have smoking prevention as their main aim, including home nursing, the Good Behavior Game, the Positive Action program and others, seem to change the developmental trajectories of children so that they are less likely to engage in multiple problem behaviors, including smoking, as adolescents. This review makes it clear that effective school-based smoking prevention programs exist and can be adopted, adapted and deployed with success – and should be

A Scale to measure motivation and behaviour in psychological experiments

The aim in this study was to develop and validate a set of scales to measure subject motivation and behaviour in psychological experiments. This was achieved by factor analysing the responses by 140 subjects to 60 statements concerning the feelings aroused and the behaviour adopted when a subject in a psychological experiment, and attitudes towards psychology, psychological research, science, and scientific method. Seven factors were obtained: I Attitudes towards psychology and psychological research II Evaluation apprehension III The good-negativistic subject role IV Volunteering V The faithful subject role VI Awareness of deception and VII Attitudes towards science and scientific method. The validity of each factor was studied by considering its relationship with other psychological variables and the other factors, using a sample of 96 psychology students. Reliability estimates were also obtained from test-retest scores for 31 subjects, as well as from item-total correlations. The limitations and usefulness of the scale are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made

A Randomized Controlled Trial Testing the Efficacy of a Brief Online Alcohol Intervention for High School Seniors

Objective: The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to examine the efficacy of a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention (the eCHECKUP TO GO) on alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among high school seniors. Method: Participants (N = 221) were high school seniors randomized by class period to either a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention (the eCHECKUP TO GO) or an assessment-only control group. Participants completed online surveys at baseline and at a 6-week follow-up. Results: Students participating in the eCHECKUP TO GO intervention reported a significant reduction in weekly drinking quantity, peak drinking quantity, and frequency of drinking to intoxication relative to those in the control group. Intervention effects were moderated by high-risk status (one or more episodes of heavy episodic drinking in the past 2 weeks reported at baseline) such that intervention effects were significant for high-risk students only. Results for alcohol-related consequences were not significant. Conclusions: Providing a brief, web-based personalized feedback intervention in the school setting is a promising approach for reducing problem alcohol use among high school seniors who report recent heavy episodic drinking

Age of Drinking Initiation as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Sensation Seeking and Heavy Drinking Among High School Seniors

Sensation seeking has been identified as a significant risk factor for adolescent alcohol use. Little is known, however, about the process by which sensation seeking impacts heavy alcohol use. The current study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships among sensation seeking, age of drinking initiation, and heavy alcohol use in a sample of high school seniors (N = 221). Results supporting age of drinking initiation as a mediator of the relationship between sensation seeking and heavy alcohol use. Implications include providing personality-targeted prevention to adolescents who display sensation seeking traits to delay drinking initiation among these students

Impact of a Brief, Bystander Bullying Prevention Program on Depressive Symptoms and Passive Suicidal Ideation: A Program Evaluation Model for School Personnel

The purpose of this article is to present a study that can serve as a model of program evaluation for school personnel that can be used to improve services and demonstrate program efficacy to key stakeholders. The study presented in this article evaluated the impact of a brief, bystander bullying program (“stealing the show,” “turning it over,” “accompanying others,” and “coaching compassion,” [STAC]) on depressive symptoms and passive suicidal ideation among middle school students in a rural, low-income community (N = 130). This topic was selected as there is limited research examining the efficacy of bystander programs on improving mental health outcomes for students trained to intervene. Results of the study indicated students trained in the STAC program reported reductions in depressive symptoms and passive suicidal ideation at a 6-week follow-up compared with an increase in symptoms reported by students in the control group. We discuss these findings and the use of program evaluation by school personnel to support prevention programming

Psychosocial Variables as Prospective Predictors of Violent Events Among Adolescents

Violent events are main causes of mortality among children and include intentional (e.g., homicide) and unintentional (e.g., accidents) circumstances. This study investigated the prediction of the self-reported occurrence of 14 violent events among eighth-grade youth from psychosocial variables measured in these same youth in seventh grade. Psychosocial variables ineluded tobacco and alcohol use, demographic variables, interpersonal variables such as family conflict, and intrapersonal variables such as risk taking. An iterative procedure, involving selection of a set of predictors and a test of the correlation of the set of predictors to the set of events, provided support for an extension of problem behavior theory to violent events

Identification of Which High Risk Youth Smoke Cigarettes Regularly

This study investigated which variables distinguish high school-aged adolescents who identify themselves as members of a high-risk group and, among them, those who report regular (weekly) vs. light levels of cigarette smoking. Youth who identified with a high-risk group were most likely to report problem-prone characteristics, such as a preference to take risks and smoke cigarettes. Yet, only half of them reported regular levels of smoking. Two variables delineated light smoking among these youth: not having a close friend who smoked and placing an importance on health as a value. Development of new tobacco-use prevention strategies to impart health values is suggested

Direct and mediated effects of a social-emotional and character development program on adolescent substance use

Mitigating and preventing substance use among adolescents requires approaches that address the multitude of factors that influence this behavior. Such approaches must be tested, not only for evidence of empirical effectiveness, but also to determine the mechanisms by which they are successful. The aims of the present study were twofold: 1) To determine the effectiveness of a school-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) program, Positive Action (PA), in reducing substance use (SU) among a sample of U.S. youth living in a low-income, urban environment, and 2) to test one mechanism by which the program achieves its success. We used longitudinal mediation analysis to test the hypotheses that: 1) students attending PA intervention schools engage in significantly less SU than students attending control schools, 2) students attending PA intervention schools show significantly better change in SECD than students attending control schools, and 3) the effect of the PA intervention on SU is mediated by the change in SECD. Analyses revealed program effects on both SECD and SU, a relationship between SECD and SU, and the effects of PA on SU were completely mediated by changes in SECD. Future research directions and implications for schoolbased social-emotional and character development efforts and substance use prevention are addressed.peer-reviewe

Internally-Developed Teen Smoking Cessation Programs: Characterizing the Unique Features of Programs Developed by Community-Based Organizations

We have compared the unique features of teen tobacco cessation programs developed internally by community-based organizations (N=75) to prepackaged programs disseminated nationally (N=234) to expand our knowledge of treatment options for teen smokers. Internally-developed programs were more likely offered in response to the sponsoring organization’s initiative (OR=2.16, p<0.05); had fewer trained cessation counselors (OR=0.31, p<0.01); and were more likely found in urban areas (OR=2.89, p=0.01). Internally-developed programs more often provided other substance-abuse treatment services than prepackaged programs and addressed other youth-specific problem behaviors (p≤0.05). Studies that examine the effectiveness of internally-developed programs in reducing smoking and maintaining cessation for teen smokers are warranted