Dataset Information

Students' perception of community disapproval, perceived enforcement of school antismoking policies, personal beliefs, and their cigarette smoking behaviors: results from a structural equation modeling analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

School tobacco use policies are often considered to be part of a comprehensive approach to preventing or reducing adolescent cigarette smoking. However, little is known about the relationships between such policies and adolescents' smoking behaviors or the mechanisms by which any such influence may occur. The present study tested a conceptual model that specifies possible direct and indirect relationships among community norms, school antismoking policies, adolescents' personal smoking beliefs, and cigarette smoking behaviors.

Methods

This study used data from 17,256 middle and high school students who participated in the 2006 Oregon Health Teens Survey.

Results

Structural equation modeling indicated that perceived enforcement of school policy was directly and positively related to perceived community norms. In addition, adolescents' personal beliefs appeared to mediate the relationship between perceived enforcement of school antismoking policies and past-30-day cigarette smoking. School policies, in turn, partially mediated the relationship between community norms and smoking beliefs.

Discussion

The results of this study provide a better understanding of how community norms and school antismoking policies may affect adolescents' cigarette smoking.

SUBMITTER: Lipperman-Kreda S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2671461 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Students' perception of community disapproval, perceived enforcement of school antismoking policies, personal beliefs, and their cigarette smoking behaviors: results from a structural equation modeling analysis.

Lipperman-Kreda Sharon S Grube Joel W JW

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 20090403 5

<h4>Introduction</h4>School tobacco use policies are often considered to be part of a comprehensive approach to preventing or reducing adolescent cigarette smoking. However, little is known about the relationships between such policies and adolescents' smoking behaviors or the mechanisms by which any such influence may occur. The present study tested a conceptual model that specifies possible direct and indirect relationships among community norms, school antismoking policies, adolescents' perso ...[more]

PMID: 19346507

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Project description:IntroductionMany European schools implement smoke-free school policies (SFSPs). SFSPs may decrease adolescent smoking by causing adolescents to perceive stronger antismoking norms, yet there exists no quantitative evidence that indicates for which norms and for whom such effects may occur. This study therefore assessed to what extent adolescents' perceived antismoking norms among best friends, teachers, and society at large were associated with SFSPs, and whether these associations were moderated by adolescents' level of school connectedness.Aims and methodsSurvey data were collected in 2016/2017 on 10,653 adolescents aged 14-16 years old and 315 staff members in 55 schools from seven European cities. Associations of adolescent-perceived SFSPs and staff-reported SFSPs with best friend, teacher, and societal antismoking norms were estimated in multilevel logistic regression models, adjusted for demographics and school-level smoking prevalence. We tested for interaction between school connectedness and SFSPs.ResultsAdolescent-perceived SFSPs were positively associated with antismoking norms by teachers (odds ratio [OR]: 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-1.85), were negatively associated with antismoking norms by best friends (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.99), but were not significantly associated with antismoking norms by society at large (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.74-1.02). All interaction tests between adolescent-perceived SFSPs and school connectedness were nonsignificant. Staff-reported SFSPs were not associated with any norm and showed no significant interaction with school connectedness.ConclusionsWe found that SFSPs are associated with adolescents' perception of more antismoking norms by teachers, but less antismoking norms by best friends, irrespective of adolescents' level of school connectedness.ImplicationsSmoke-free school policies, just as many other tobacco control policies, are assumed to foster adolescents' perception of antismoking norms. Still, current evidence does not demonstrate which antismoking norms may be influenced by SFSPs and whether this influence is equal for adolescents with different levels of school connectedness. This study suggests that SFSPs foster adolescents' perception of antismoking norms by teachers, but may concurrently lead to the perception of less antismoking norms by best friends, irrespective of adolescents' school connectedness. SFSPs may therefore need to be complemented with interventions that target antismoking norms in adolescent peer groups.

Project description:BackgroundDemographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted throughout sub-Saharan Africa indicate there is widespread acceptance of intimate partner violence, contributing to an adverse health risk environment for women. While qualitative studies suggest important limitations in the accuracy of the DHS methods used to elicit attitudes toward intimate partner violence, to date there has been little experimental evidence from sub-Saharan Africa that can be brought to bear on this issue.Methods and findingsWe embedded a randomized survey experiment in a population-based survey of 1,334 adult men and women living in Nyakabare Parish, Mbarara, Uganda. The primary outcomes were participants' personal beliefs about the acceptability of intimate partner violence and perceived norms about intimate partner violence in the community. To elicit participants' personal beliefs and perceived norms, we asked about the acceptability of intimate partner violence in five different vignettes. Study participants were randomly assigned to one of three survey instruments, each of which contained varying levels of detail about the extent to which the wife depicted in the vignette intentionally or unintentionally violated gendered standards of behavior. For the questions about personal beliefs, the mean (standard deviation) number of items where intimate partner violence was endorsed as acceptable was 1.26 (1.58) among participants assigned to the DHS-style survey variant (which contained little contextual detail about the wife's intentions), 2.74 (1.81) among participants assigned to the survey variant depicting the wife as intentionally violating gendered standards of behavior, and 0.77 (1.19) among participants assigned to the survey variant depicting the wife as unintentionally violating these standards. In a partial proportional odds regression model adjusting for sex and village of residence, with participants assigned to the DHS-style survey variant as the referent group, participants assigned the survey variant that depicted the wife as intentionally violating gendered standards of behavior were more likely to condone intimate partner violence in a greater number of vignettes (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] ranged from 3.87 to 5.74, with all p < 0.001), while participants assigned the survey variant that depicted the wife as unintentionally violating these standards were less likely to condone intimate partner violence (AORs ranged from 0.29 to 0.70, with p-values ranging from <0.001 to 0.07). The analysis of perceived norms displayed similar patterns, but the effects were slightly smaller in magnitude: participants assigned to the "intentional" survey variant were more likely to perceive intimate partner violence as normative (AORs ranged from 2.05 to 3.51, with all p < 0.001), while participants assigned to the "unintentional" survey variant were less likely to perceive intimate partner violence as normative (AORs ranged from 0.49 to 0.65, with p-values ranging from <0.001 to 0.14). The primary limitations of this study are that our assessments of personal beliefs and perceived norms could have been measured with error and that our findings may not generalize beyond rural Uganda.ConclusionsContextual information about the circumstances under which women in hypothetical vignettes were perceived to violate gendered standards of behavior had a significant influence on the extent to which study participants endorsed the acceptability of intimate partner violence. Researchers aiming to assess personal beliefs or perceived norms about intimate partner violence should attempt to eliminate, as much as possible, ambiguities in vignettes and questions administered to study participants.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02202824.

Project description:BackgroundDepression is a prevalent and severe disorder associated with considerable stigma. This stigma contributes to the suffering and impedes help seeking behaviour of those affected. Stigma can be influenced by causal beliefs about depression and personal contact with people suffering from depression. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) the associations between beliefs about the aetiology of depression and personal / perceived stigma, as well as (2) a possible moderating effect of personal contact with people with depression on these associations.MethodsStigma, causal beliefs, and contact with depression were assessed in a representative online survey among German adults (N = 5,000). Multiple regression analyses were performed with contact levels (unaffected vs. personally affected (diagnosed) vs. personally affected (undiagnosed) vs. affected by relatives with depression vs. persons who treat depression) and causal beliefs (biogenetic vs. psychosocial vs. lifestyle) as predictor variables for personal and perceived stigma as dependent variables.ResultsHigher personal stigma was associated with lifestyle causal beliefs (p < .001, f² = 0.07), lower personal stigma with biogenetic (p = .006, f² = 0.01) and psychosocial (p < .001, f² = 0.02) causal beliefs. A positive interaction between psychosocial beliefs and the contact group "relatives" (p = .039) further suggests that this contact group does not benefit so strongly from psychosocial causal beliefs regarding personal stigma. Higher perceived stigma was associated with psychosocial (p < .001, f² = 0.01) and lifestyle (p < .011, f² = 0.01) causal beliefs. Regarding contact levels, the "unaffected" had significantly higher personal stigma scores than each of the other contact groups (p < .001). The contact group "affected (diagnosed)" had significantly higher perceived stigma scores than "unaffected".ConclusionsThe available data show that anti-stigma campaigns should clearly communicate, that depression is not caused by an unfavorable lifestyle. In general, psychosocial or biological explanatory models should be explained. Especially for the target group "relatives of depressive patients", who can be an important support for patients, education about biogenetic explanatory models should be provided. However, it is important to note that causal beliefs are only one of many factors that impact on stigma.

Dataset Information

Students' perception of community disapproval, perceived enforcement of school antismoking policies, personal beliefs, and their cigarette smoking behaviors: results from a structural equation modeling analysis.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Students' perception of community disapproval, perceived enforcement of school antismoking policies, personal beliefs, and their cigarette smoking behaviors: results from a structural equation modeling analysis.

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