Relationship between comprehensive school health education and the smoking knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of grade nine adolescents

Fitzgerald, Sharon (1995) Relationship between comprehensive school health education and the smoking knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of grade nine adolescents. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of smoking prevention and cessation efforts in this province which were delivered as part of a piloted comprehensive health program to grade 7 students during the 1992-1993 academic year. Specifically, the study examined the smoking knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of a sample of grade 9 adolescents exposed to the comprehensive health program in grade 7, as compared to a sample of grade 9 adolescents who were not exposed to the program in grade 7. This study also examined whether the relationship between the comprehensive health program and student smoking knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour varied with gender and role modelling influence. -- The experimental group consisted of a convenience sample of 122 grade 9 students in the school which received the comprehensive health program while the control group consisted of a convenience sample of 69 grade 9 students in another school who did not receive the program. Both schools were in the St. John's area. All students completed questionnaires which secured data on gender and the smoking behaviour of friends and family, previous and current student smoking behaviour, student smoking knowledge, and student smoking attitudes. -- The results of the study demonstrated that the experimental and control groups were not statistically different overall in their smoking knowledge, attitudes or behaviour. Descriptive statistics indicated that students were very knowledgeable on smoking issues, yet substantially large numbers of students reported they currently smoked. Findings also suggested that the relationship between the comprehensive health program and student smoking attitudes and behaviour varied with role modelling influence. When controlling for other variables, mothers' smoking behaviour was most predictive of student smoking behaviour. -- The findings in the study demonstrated that the effectiveness of comprehensive school health on smoking attitudes and behaviour can be impeded by the antecedents of health behaviour, namely environmental influences such as role models' behaviour, and in particular, mothers. Such influence must be taken into account in the design and implementation of school health programs. Further research is warranted to assess the impact of mothers' smoking behaviour on adolescents and to identify interventions that may be effective in counteracting this influence.

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