Violence and aggression in schools in Schleswig-Holstein

In der vorliegenden Studie wurden das Ausmaß und die Verbreitung verschiedener Aggressions- und Gewaltformen an Schulen in Schleswig-Holstein untersucht. In einer repräsentativen Erhebung sind insgesamt 2382 Personen befragt worden. Im Rahmen der Fragebogenstudie wurden die Antworten von 1186 Schülern, 559 Lehrern und 637 Eltern anonym ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen leichten Trend des Anstiegs der Gewaltproblematik in den letzten Jahren, ein erhebliches Ausmaß an verbaler Aggression sowie eine Reihe von innerschulischen Bedingungen von Vandalismus und Gewalthandlungen. Während in der Literatur postulierte Determinanten der Gewalt in Schulen nicht bestätigt werden konnten, zeigt sich in dieser Studie ein Zusammenhang mit Unterforderung der Schüler, Langeweile und Lärm im Unterricht. (DIPF/Text übernommen)The present study describes the extent and distribution of several forms of aggression and violence in schools in Schleswig-Holstein. Answers from 2382 persons were compiled in a representative sample .1186 pupils, 559 teachers and 637 parents participated in the study. Results indicate a slight increase in violence in schools during the last three years. However, a high frequency of verbal aggression was found. Additionally, a number of determinants of vandalism and acts of violence could be documented; underachievement, boredom, and a high noise level in classrooms reveal a high correlation with aggression and violence. On the other hand, several classic determinants of violence in schools could not be confirmed. (DIPF/Orig.

Seeing and liking cigarette advertisements: is there a 'mere exposure' effect?

AIMS: We aimed to explain the association between exposure to a cigarette advertisement and favorable attitudes towards the advertisement. METHODS: We used data from an observational cross-sectional study with a sample of 3,415 German schoolchildren aged 10-17 years. Cigarette advertising exposure was assessed with an image of a Marlboro ad, asking for contact frequency (number of times seen the ad) and brand name. Liking of the ad was measured with two items (alpha = 0.78). RESULTS: We found a positive linear association between exposure to the Marlboro ad and liking it. This association remained significant (standardized β = 0.09; p < 0.001) even after statistical control for smoking status, smoking of friends and parents, attitudes towards smoking in general, cigarette advertising receptivity (having a favorite cigarette ad), exposure to other advertisings, age, sex, socioeconomic status, rebelliousness and sensation seeking, self-reported school performance, and study region. CONCLUSIONS: The association between exposure to an advertisement and liking it was robust and could not be fully explained without referring to either unmeasured confounding or implicit advertising effects (e.g. mere exposure). Implicit effects have implications for prevention strategies as it may be very difficult to counteract unconscious advertising effects

Effectiveness of an app-based intervention to reduce substance use, gambling, and digital media use in vocational school students: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Substance-related and addictive disorders are among the most common mental disorders in adolescence and young adulthood. Vocational school students are a risk group for problematic substance use and addictive behavior. However, the availability of evidence-based prevention concepts and programs is underdeveloped in the vocational school setting. Methods/design: A two-arm cluster randomized waitlist-controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an app-based intervention to decrease substance use, gambling, and digital media use in vocational school students in Germany. Vocational students will participate in an app-based intervention that is designed to support voluntary commitment to abstain from or reduce substance or digital media use over a period of 2 weeks. The "education-as-usual" control arm will have access to the intervention after data collection is completed. One of the primary outcome measures will be the use of alcohol, nicotine, and digital media 30 days after the intervention. Several secondary outcome measures will also be included, such as cannabis consumption, gambling, symptoms of stress, physical activity, mindfulness, well-being, impulsivity and sensation seeking, and readiness to change. A total of 4500 vocational students from 225 classes will be recruited and randomized across three German federal states. Discussion: This study protocol describes the design of an RCT testing the effectiveness of an app-based intervention to reduce addictive behaviors in vocational school students. It is expected that this approach will be feasible for and effective in the vocational school setting and that the study provides comprehensive information on the key factors involved in temporary abstaining or reducing substance or digital media use. Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00023788. Registered on 20 January 2021

Short term effects of a weight loss and healthy lifestyle programme for overweight and obese men delivered by German football clubs

Numbers of obese and overweight people continue to grow in Germany as they do worldwide. Men are affected more often but do less about it and few weight loss services attract men in particular. To evaluate the effectiveness of a men-only weight loss program, Football Fans in Training (FFIT), delivered by football clubs in the German Bundesliga, we did a non-randomized trial with a waiting list control group. Participants’ data were collected between January 2017 and July 2018. FFIT is a 12-week, group-based, weight loss program and was delivered in stadia and facilities of 15 professional German Bundesliga clubs. Inclusion criteria were age 35-65 years, BMI ≥ 28 and waist circumference ≥100 cm.. Clubs recruited participants through Social Media, E-Mail and match day advertisement. 477 German male football fans were allocated to the intervention group by order of registration date at their respective clubs. 84 participants on waiting list were allocated to the control group. Primary outcome was mean difference in weight loss with treatment condition over time as independent variable. We performed a multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analysis. Results were based on Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis with Multiple Imputation.. After 12 weeks, the mean weight loss of the intervention group adjusted for club, course and participants' age was 6.24 kg (95 % CI 5.82 to 6.66) against 0.50 kg (-0.47 to 1.49) in the comparison group (