Psychosocial predictors of physical activity in adolescents.

Regular physical activity consistently demonstrates an inverse relationship with coronary heart disease and has positive effects on quality of life and other psychological variables. Despite the benefits of exercise, many youth and adults maintain a sedentary lifestyle. Interventions are needed, particularly with youth, to increase levels of physical activity.

Effects of communitywide education on cardiovascular disease risk factors. The Stanford Five-City Project.

To test whether communitywide health education can reduce stroke and coronary heart disease, we compared two treatment cities (N = 122,800) and two control cities (N = 197,500) for changes in knowledge of risk factors, blood pressure, plasma cholesterol level, smoking rate, body weight, and resting pulse rate. Treatment cities received a 5-year, low-cost, comprehensive program using social learning theory, a communication-behavior change model, community organization principles, and social marketing methods that resulted in about 26 hours of exposure to multichannel and multifactor education. Risk factors were assessed in representative cohort and cross-sectional surveys at baseline and in three later surveys.

Social influences approach to smoking prevention: the effects of videotape delivery with and without same-age peer leader participation.

This study tested the hypothesis that cigarette smoking adoption among adolescents could be suppressed by providing school-based videotape instruction for resisting social influences to smoke. The utilization of same-age peer leaders was also varied to test whether their participation in the classroom would enhance program effects. Seventh grade students (N = 540) from one junior high school in Southern California were randomly assigned by classrooms (N = 15) to: (a) videotape instruction, (b) videotape instruction plus peer leader involvement, or (c) survey-only.

Communication and health education research: potential sources for education for prevention of drug use.

Studies conducted by the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention have been carried out over the last 15 years. These studies indicate that, with systematic planning by interdisciplinary research teams, field research projects, based on appropriate theory, can be mounted successfully both at the community level and in schools for the study of adolescents and for adolescent children. Both final and interim results are for the most part encouraging.