Identifying principal risk factors for the initiation of adolescent smoking behaviors: the significance of psychological reactance.

An in-school youth survey for a major state anti-tobacco media campaign was conducted with 1,831 students (Grades 6-12) from 70 randomly selected classrooms throughout the state. Tobacco users accounted for nearly 25% of the sample. Pretest questionnaires assessed demographic variables, tobacco use, and various other risk factors.

Acculturation, familism, parental monitoring, and knowledge as predictors of marijuana and inhalant use in adolescents.

The authors investigated relationships between marijuana and inhalant use and several cultural and demographic factors in Anglo American and Hispanic American adolescents (N=1,094). Outcome measures assessed lifetime and 30-day marijuana and inhalant use. Predictors and covariates used in logistic regression analyses were region, grade, gender, knowledge, acculturation, familism, and parental monitoring.

Perceptions of the at-risk nonsmoker: are potential intervention topics being overlooked?

This study assesses how adolescent nonsmokers, at-risk smokers, and smokers differ in perceptions of smoking harms, benefits, and safety. While small differences exist when comparing attitudes and knowledge concerning short- and long-term benefits of smoking, large differences arise when attitudes and knowledge concerning the short-term benefits and the safety of casual smoking are compared.

Adolescent reactance and anti-smoking campaigns: a theoretical approach.

Children between the ages of 9 and 15 are a high-risk group for tobacco use. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that first use of cigarettes among adolescents has risen 30% over the past decade, and that more than 1.2 million people age < 18 became daily smokers in 1996 alone.

Effects of fatalism and family communication on HIV/AIDS awareness variations in Native American and Anglo parents and children.

Incorporating three analytic approaches, the present research examines HIV/AIDS awareness levels in a sample of Native American and Anglo parents and children. Descriptive analysis revealed that Native Americans, especially children, possess startlingly poor levels of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge compared with Anglos. This disparity is most evident for more subtle HIV/AIDS facts.