The twin goals of our research efforts are to contribute to our understanding of factors influencing adolescent cigarette smoking, and to devise a maximally effective smoking prevention program for adolescents. Specifically, we are proposing four studies: 1) a followup study of the young people who participated in previous field trials of our smoking prevention program; 2) a study of parentchild communication in which parent attitudes toward and responses to smoking by their adolescent children will be investigated; 3) a study of the internal and external motivations which encourage a smoking adolescent to make a quitting and factors which are associated with success at that attempt, including intentions of the quitter (goals plus concrete action plans), availability of the cigarette, cravings for the cigarette, and social support for the quitting attempt; and 4) a new intervention field trial which incorporates information gained in the first three studies. We will revise our smoking prevention program consistent with what we have learned in the three studies above, will prepare new materials and teacher guides, and will fieldtest the program in 10 middle schools. The intervention will be run under two conditions: one with parent involvement and one without. In the parent involvement condition, parents will receive (through the mail) informational packets which parallel the antismoking messages being given to their children in school, and which suggest ways for parents to reinforce these messages through communication with their child. The thrust of our intervention is to connect substance use to life skills through feeling states. For example, parents will be encourage to explore their child's feelings, the ways he/she tries to regulate those feelings (through the use of substances such as nicotine, or by listening to music, exercising, etc.) and how the method chosen to regulate feelings states may affect their health.
| Leventhal, H; Keeshan, P; Baker, T et al. (1991) Smoking prevention: towards a process approach. Br J Addict 86:583-7 |
| Fleming, R; Leventhal, H; Glynn, K et al. (1989) The role of cigarettes in the initiation and progression of early substance use. Addict Behav 14:261-72 |
| Ershler, J; Leventhal, H; Fleming, R et al. (1989) The quitting experience for smokers in sixth through twelfth grades. Addict Behav 14:365-78 |
| Mosbach, P; Leventhal, H (1988) Peer group identification and smoking: implications for intervention. J Abnorm Psychol 97:238-45 |
| Leventhal, H; Glynn, K; Fleming, R (1987) Is the smoking decision an 'informed choice'? Effect of smoking risk factors on smoking beliefs. JAMA 257:3373-6 |
