104 research outputs found
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
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
Recommended from our members
Illicit Use of Prescription Stimulants in a College Student Sample: A Theory-Guided Analysis
BACKGROUND: The illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) has emerged as a high-risk behavior of the 21st century college student. As the study of IUPS is relatively new, we aimed to understand 1) characteristics of IUPS (i.e., initiation, administration routes, drug sources, motives, experiences), and 2) theory-guided intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental correlates associated with use.
METHODS: Using one-stage cluster sampling, 520 students (96.3% response rate) at one Pacific Northwest University completed a paper-based, in-classroom survey on IUPS behaviors and expected correlates. Aim 1 was addressed using descriptive statistics and aim 2 was addressed via three nested logistic regression analyses guided by the Theory of Triadic Influence.
RESULTS: The prevalence of ever engaging in IUPS during college was 25.6%. The majority (>50.0%) of users reported initiation during college, oral use, friends as the drug source, academic motives, and experiencing desired outcomes. Intrapersonal correlates associated with use included identifying as White, lower grade point average, diagnoses of attention deficit disorder, and lower avoidance self-efficacy. Interpersonal correlates of use included off-campus residence, varsity sports participation, IUPS perceptions by socializing agents, and greater behavioral norms. Exposure to prescription drug print media, greater prescription stimulant knowledge, and positive attitudes towards prescription stimulants were environmental correlates associated with use. In all models, IUPS intentions were strongly associated with use.
CONCLUSIONS: IUPS was prevalent on the campus under investigation and factors from the intrapersonal, interpersonal and environmental domains were associated with the behavior. Implications for prevention and future research are discussed.Keywords: Prescription stimulants, Health behavior theory, College studentsKeywords: Prescription stimulants, Health behavior theory, College student
Recommended from our members
Development and Psychometric Properties of a Theory-Guided Prescription Stimulant Misuse Questionnaire for College Students
A theory-guided instrument for examining prescription stimulant misuse in the college population was developed and its psychometric properties were evaluated from 2011-2012 at one Pacific Northwest (United States) university. Study methods included instrument development, assessment by five health and measurement professionals, group interviews with six college students, a test-retest pilot study, and a paper-based, in-classroom, campus study using one-stage cluster sampling (N = 520 students, 20 classrooms, eligible student response rate = 96.30%). The instrument demonstrated reliability (i.e. internal consistency and stability) and validity (i.e. face, content, and predictive). Limitations and implications are discussed.Keywords: college, reliability, prescription stimulant misuse, validity, questionnaire developmen
Recommended from our members
The Illicit Use of Prescription Stimulants on College Campuses: A Theory-Guided Systematic Review
The illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) is a substance use behavior that remains prevalent on college campuses. As theory can guide research and practice, we provide a systematic review of the college-based IUPS epidemiological literature guided by one ecological framework, the Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI). We aim to assess prevalence, elucidate the behavior’s multi-etiological nature, and discuss prevention implications. Peer-reviewed studies were located through key phrase searches (prescription stimulant misuse and college; “prescription stimulant misuse” and “college”; illicit use of prescription stimulants in college; nonmedical prescription stimulant use in college students) in electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, and EBSCO Host) for the period 2000 to 2013. Studies meeting inclusion criteria had their references reviewed for additional eligible literature. Statistically significant correlates of IUPS in the 62 retrieved studies were organized using the three streams of influence and four levels of causation specified in the TTI. Results show the prevalence of IUPS varies across campuses. Additionally, findings suggest the behavior is multifaceted, as correlates were observed within each stream of influence and level of causation specified by the TTI. We conclude that IUPS is prevalent in, but varies across, colleges, and is influenced by intrapersonal and broader social and societal factors. We discuss implications for prevention and directions for future research.Keywords: Systematic review, Health behavior, Prescription stimulants, Behavioral theories, College healt
Community and School Drug Prevention Strategy Prevalence: Differential Effects by Setting and Substance
This study used key informant interviews and student survey data in 508 U.S. communities to examine relationships between the prevalence of community an
Teachers' Perceptions of School Organizational Climate as Predictors of Dosage and Quality of Implementation of a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program
Abstract Organizational climate has been proposed as a factor that might influence a school's readiness to successfully implement school-wide prevention programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of teachers' perceptions of three dimensions of school organizational climate on the dosage and quality of teacher implementation of Positive Action, a social-emotional and character development (SECD) program. The dimensions measured were teachers' perceptions of (a) the school's openness to innovation, (b) the extent to which schools utilize participatory decision-making practices, and (c) the existence of supportive relationships among teachers (teacher-teacher affiliation). Data from 46 teachers in seven schools enrolled in the treatment arm of a longitudinal, cluster-randomized, controlled trial were analyzed. Teacher perceptions of a school's tendency to be innovative was associated with a greater number of lessons taught and self-reported quality of delivery, and teacher-teacher affiliation was associated with a higher use of supplementary activities. The findings suggest that perceptions of a school's organizational climate impact teachers' implementation of SECD programs and have implications for school administrators and technical assistance providers as they work to implement and sustain prevention programs in schools
- …