This study examined the effectiveness of a tobacco and alcohol prevention program that was delivered to sixth and seventh grade students by minimally trained classroom teachers. The program focused on (a) teaching students to identify and resist peer in fluences, (b) information about short- and long-term consequences of tobacco and alcohol use, (c) the correction of normative expectations, and (d) the establishment of conservative intentions regarding tobacco and alcohol use. Two cohorts of students were pretested, and subsequent to delivery of the program, they were tracked longi tudinally. The first cohort was followed for four years, the second was followed for three years. Results indicate that the program reduced the onset and prevalence of tobacco use but not alcohol use. The effects for tobacco were differentially related to the school district in which the program was delivered, the sex of student, and eth nicity, suggesting that prevention program content is only one variable that may affect the effectiveness of prevention interventions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Surgeon General: Smoking and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General . Washington. DC, DHEW Publication No. (PHS) 79-50066, 1979.
2.
Ravenholt RT : Addictive mortality in the United States 1980: Tobacco, alcohol and other substances. Pop Dev Rev10:697-724, 1984.
3.
Noble EP: Third Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare , 1978.
4.
Luce BR, Schweitzer SO: Smoking and alcohol abuse: A comparison of their economic consequences . N Engl J Med298:569-571, 1978.
5.
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services: Fifth Special Report to the U.S. Congress on Alcohol and Health. Washington, DC, DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 84-1291, 1984.
6.
Evans RI: Smoking in children: Developing a social psychological strategy of deterrence . Prevent Med5:122-127, 1976.
7.
Lichtenstein E.: The smoking problem: A behavioral perspective . J Consult Clin Psychol50:804-819, 1982.
8.
Alden L.: Preventive strategies in the treatment of alcohol abuse: A review and a proposal . In Davidson PO, Davidson SM (eds), Behavioral Medicine: Changing Health Lifestyles. New York, Brunner/Mazel : 1980, pp 256-278.
9.
Bandura A.: Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. Am Psychologist37: 122-147, 1982.
10.
McGuire WJ: Inducing resistance to persuasion. In Berkowitz L (ed), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology , vol 1 Orlando, FL, Academic, 1964, pp 192-229.
11.
Botvin GJ, Eng A., Williams CL: Preventing the onset of cigarette smoking through Life Skills Training . Prevent Med9:135-143, 1980.
12.
Botvin GJ, Eng A.: A comprehensive school-based smoking prevention program. J Sch Health50:209-213, 1980.
13.
Botvin GJ, Eng A.: The efficacy of a multicomponent approach to the prevention of cigarette smoking . Prevent Med11:199-211, 1982.
14.
Evans RI, Rozelle RM, Mittelmark MB, Hansen WB, Bane AL, Havis J.: Deterring the onset of smoking in children: Knowledge of immediate physiological effects and coping with peer pressure, media pressure, and parent modeling . J Appl Soc Psychol8:126-135, 1978.
15.
Flay BR, d'Avernas JR, Best JA, Kersell MW, Ryan KB: Cigarette smoking: Why young people do it and ways of preventing it . In McGrath P, Firestone P (eds), Pediatric and Adolescent Behavioral MedicineNew York, Springer-Verlag, 1983, pp 132-183.
16.
Hurd PD, Johnson CA, Pechacek T., Bast LP, Jacobs DR, Luepker RV: Prevention of cigarette smoking in seventh grade students. J Behav Med3:15-28, 1980.
17.
Johnson CA, Hansen WB, Collins LM, Graham JW: High school smoking prevention: Results of a three-year longitudinal study . J Behav Med9:439-452, 1986.
18.
McAlister AL , Perry C., Maccoby N.: Adolescent smoking: Onset and prevention . Pediatrics63:650-658, 1979.
19.
McAlister AL , Perry C., Killen J., Slinkard LA, Maccoby N.: Pilot study of smoking, alcohol, and drug abuse prevention. Am J Public Health70:719-721, 1980.
20.
Murray DM, Johnson CA, Luepker RV, Mittelmark MB: The prevention of cigarette smoking in children: A comparison of four strategies . J Appl Soc Psychol14:274-288, 1984.
21.
Schinke SP, Gilchrist LS: Preventing substance abuse with children and adolescents. J Consult Clin Psychol53:596-602, 1985.
22.
Sherman SJ, Presson CC, Chassin L., Corty E., Olshavsky R.: The false consensus effect in estimates of smoking prevalence: Underlying mechanisms. Personal Soc Psychol Bull9:197-207, 1983.
23.
Janis IL, Mann L.: Decision Making. New York, Free Press, 1977.
24.
Hansen WB, Evans RI: Feedback versus information concerning carbon monoxide as an early intervention strategy in adolescent smoking. Adolescence17:89-98, 1982.
25.
Hansen WB, Malotte CK: Perceived personal immunity: The development of beliefs about susceptibility to the consequences of smoking. Prevent Med15:363-372, 1986.
26.
Hovland C., Janis IL, Kelley HH: Communication and Persuasion: Psychological Studies in Opinion Change . New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1963.
27.
Polich JM, Ellickson PL, Reuter P., Kahan JP: Strategies for Controlling Adolescent Drug Use. Santa Monica , Rand, 1984.
28.
Kandel D.: Stages in adolescent involvement in drug use. Science190:912-914, 1975.
29.
Johnson CA, Graham JG, Hansen WB: Interaction effects of multiple risk taking behavior: The relationships between tobacco, alcohol and marijuana use among high school students. Paper presented at the 109th meeting of the American Public Health Association, Los Angeles, CA, November 1981.
30.
Hansen WB, Graham JW, Sobel JL, Shelton DR, Flay BR, Johnson CA: The consistency of peer and parent influences on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among young adolescents. J Behav Med10:559-579, 1987.
Severson HH , Ary DV: Sampling bias due to consent procedures with adolescents. Addict Behav8:433-437, 1983.
33.
Luepker RV, Pechacek TF, Murray DM, Johnson CA, Hurd F., Jacobs DR: Saliva thiocyanate: A chemical indicator of cigarette smoking in adolescents . Am J Public Health71:1320-1324, 1981 .
34.
Evans RI, Hansen WB, Mittelmark M.: Increasing the validity of self-reports of behavior in a smoking in children investigation. J Appl Psychol62:521-523, 1977.
35.
Bauman KE, Dent CW: Influence of an objective measure on self-reports of behavior. J Appl Psychol67:623-628, 1982.
36.
Bauman KE, Koch GG, Bryan ES: Validity of self-reports of adolescent cigarette smoking. Int J Addict17:1131-1136, 1982 .
37.
Chassin L., Corty E., Presson CC, Olshavsky RW, Bensenberg M., Sherman SJ: Predicting adolescents intentions to smoke cigarettes. J Health Soc Beh22:445-455, 1981.
38.
Hansen WB, Malotte CK, Fielding JE: The bogus pipeline revisited: The use of the threat of detection as a means of increasing self-reports of tobacco use. J Appl Psychol70:789-791, 1985.
39.
Campbell DT, Stanley JC: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Research. Chicago, Rand McNally Publishing, 1963.
40.
Cook TD, Campbell DT: Quasi-Experimentation, Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings . Chicago, Rand McNally College Publishing, 1978.
41.
Hansen WB, Collins LM, Malotte CK, Johnson CA, Fielding JE: Attrition in prevention research. J Behav Med8:261-275, 1985.
42.
Brophy J.: Teacher influence on student achievement. Am Psychol41:1069-1077, 1986.
