Lifestyle values of adolescents: results from Minnesota Heart Health Youth Program.

As a part of the Minnesota Heart Health Program (MHHP), a seven-year cohort study of adolescents in two different communities was conducted. A school-based intervention was implemented in one of the communities which addressed aspects of cardiovascular health promotion and risk-factor prevention. This paper focuses on changes in the adolescents' values and the importance of their behaviors and lifestyle patterns over the study period.

Adolescents' alcohol use related to perceived norms.

A questionnaire survey was carried out among 898 Norwegian adolescents age twelve to twenty. The study focused on the relation between adolescents' alcohol use on one side and estimated drinking norms (peers' drinking) together with attributed opinion norms (parents' and friends' acceptance of adolescents' alcohol use) on the other. On average, 5% of students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade reported weekly alcohol use.

Communitywide smoking prevention: long-term outcomes of the Minnesota Heart Health Program and the Class of 1989 Study.

Objectives: The Class of 1989 Study is part of the Minnesota Heart Health Program (MHHP), a populationwide research and demonstration project designed to reduce cardiovascular disease in three educated communities from 1980 to 1993. This paper describes an intensive, school-based behavioral intervention on cigarette smoking, comparing long-term outcomes in one of the intervention communities with those in a matched reference community.

Methods: Beginning in sixth grade (1983), seven annual waves of cohort and cross-sectional behavioral measurements were taken from one MHHP intervention community and its matched pair.

[Smoking and use of alcohol among Norwegian school children: trends in the 1980s].

Large-scale, national surveys to assess smoking and use of alcohol among representative samples of Norwegian school children were conducted in November 1983, 1985, and 1989. The surveys were part of the international WHO-study: Health Behaviour in Schoolchildren. A total of 3,391 (1983), 3,955 (1985) and 5,037 (1989) 5th, 7th and 9th grade students completed an anonymous questionnaire.

[Use of safety devices among children and adolescents].

5,000 Norwegian children from grades 5, 7 and 9 participated in a survey which questioned to what extent they use various kinds of safety equipment: safety belt, bicycle helmet, reflector, life-vest when in small boats, skateboard helmet and other skateboard safety devices. Use of all types of equipment decreases with increasing age. Except for reflectors, which are used most often by girls, there are no difference between girls and boys as regards use of safety equipment.

[Self-reported accident frequency among children and adolescents].

The article presents self-reported accidents among a representative group of Norwegian children from grades 5, 7 and 9. About half of the girls and 2/3 of the boys report having had at least one accident which had to be treated by a physician during their lifetime. This number is less than expected on the basis of accident-report figures, and may indicate that a small group of children have an unproportionally large number of accidents.

Etiology of drinking and driving among adolescents: implications for primary prevention.

A prospective study was conducted to investigate what factors are predictive of self-reported drinking and driving (DD) among adolescents. The study employs a theoretical framework taken from Problem Behavior Theory; environmental, personality, and behavioral factors are explored for their predictability of DD. A cohort of 1482 high school students completed a written survey in spring of 1986 and again in fall of 1986.

The Norwegian cholesterol campaign: a one year follow-up evaluation of a local action.

As part of a Norwegian campaign to reduce serum cholesterol levels, the general public of the City of Bergen was invited to participate in cholesterol testing in October 1988. Participants received the results of the cholesterol screening and nutritional information from trained health personnel. In order to evaluate selected aspects of the campaign, a short questionnaire was mailed to all 354 participants 1-2 weeks after the initial cholesterol screening, and then again one year later.

[A campaign against home accidents--accident prevention efforts in the communities].

A nation-wide campaign aimed at preventing accidents in the home is being implemented in Norway. 95% of the municipalities acknowledge having received information material from the campaign, 33% report having established accident prevention committees, and 26% report having introduced preventive measures as a result of this national campaign. The study indicates that accidents are not recognized as yet as a major health problem in many municipalities.

The Nordic countries: perspectives in school health.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden constitute a geographical and cultural entity referred to as the Nordic countries. These countries all enjoy a high standard of living, and the health of their children can be characterized as good in comparison to that of earlier generations and that of many other nations. In the Nordic countries, school health services constitute a compulsory component of school systems and are free to all students.

Public support for policy initiatives regulating alcohol use in Minnesota: a multi-community survey.

Public support for policies to control alcohol sales and consumption was surveyed in seven Minnesota communities. A total of 438 women and 383 men were asked to indicate their level of support of or opposition to nine different proposals designed to regulate alcohol. There was general support for all policies, which was strongly related to characteristics of respondents and type of policy proposed.

[The cholesterol campaign--evaluation of a local action].

As part of a Norwegian action to reduce cholesterol, we registered the names, addresses and cholesterol levels of 354 persons. In order to evaluate selected aspects of the campaign, we mailed a short questionnaire to all participants 1-2 weeks after the registration (the response rate was 94.9%).

[Effect of the law against smoking at the work place. A study done among employees of the city of Bergen].

On 1 July 1988, the Norwegian Parliament passed a new section to the Tobacco Act, which banned smoking in areas accessible to the general public and in work areas where two or more people are gathered. In April, 1989, a study was undertaken in Bergen, Norway, to evaluate the impact of this new law. A written survey, to be filled-in anonymously, was distributed to approximately 1300 employees of the City of Bergen.

Differences in smoking cessation strategies between men and women.

This descriptive research was designed to identify differences in smoking cessation strategies between men and women in a cross-sectional population sample of current smokers in the upper Midwest. Data on the number of previous quit attempts, the success and persistence in quit attempts, future intentions to change smoking habits, and strategies planned for cessation were obtained from 1669 smokers. Log-linear analyses controlling for age and the number of cigarettes smoked revealed significant gender differences.

The efficacy of peer leaders in drug abuse prevention.

The results from school-based, peer-led psychosocial smoking prevention programs suggest that this approach is effective in reducing smoking onset rates. This paper provides a theoretical rationale for using peer leaders as a major strategy in school-based drug abuse prevention programs and reviews the available literature assessing the impact of peer leadership in such programs. Furthermore, some of the practical issues involved in selecting and training peer leaders and teachers are discussed, and process evaluation data from studies conducted at the University of Minnesota are presented.

A process evaluation study of peer leaders in health education.

Peer education is an important part of health education programs. In smoking prevention programs, peer leaders are particularly efficacious. Yet, research on peer leaders' perceptions of these programs is minimal.

Preventing the onset of cigarette smoking in Norwegian adolescents: the Oslo youth study.

As part of a 2-year multiple risk factor intervention study, a school-based, multicomponent smoking prevention program for 10- to 15-year-old students in Oslo, Norway, resulted in a significant reduction in the onset of smoking relative to a reference group. Based on reported smoking behavior, the intervention group (N = 278) experienced a smoking onset rate of 16.5% and the reference group (N = 208) a rate of 26.