Life Skills among the Junior High School Students Confronting Smoking in Tabriz, 2004- 2005.

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Cigarette Smoking is one of the most important public health problems throughout the world. Most smoker begin smoking before 18. Thus effective primary prevention programs for youth smoking are urgently required. The most effective prevention approaches have focused on teaching social resistance skills either alone or in combination with general life skills. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the skills among junior high school students confronting smoking in Tabriz, 2004 -2005. Material and Methods: The study design was cross –sectional which was carried out on 640 junior high school students were selected by cluster, stratified and systematic random sampling method from 16 high school of public and private and student gender. An anonymous questionnaire was administered. The question was developed to measure prevalence of smoking, anticipated use, knowledge of Hazard smoking, positive attitudes towards smoking, perception of peers and adults smoking, problem solving and decision –making skills, communication skills, anxiety –reducing skills, assertiveness skills and refusal –skills. Data were analyzed with SPSS ver.11. Results: From total of subjects, 53.10% were boy, over 80% either 14 or 15 year old and 52.3% gad peer smoking, and 5.6% were current smoker, 11.3% experimental smokers and 83.1% nonsmokers. For initiated use in the next year, 14.1% of students reported that they might use cigarettes. Statistically significant relationships were observed between knowledge, attitude, normative expectation, problem solving and decision making skills, anxiety reducing skills, communication skills and refusal skills with status of smoking. Also there were significant relationships between knowledge, attitude, normative expectation, problem solving and decision making skills, anxiety reducing skills, communication skills and refusal skills with intention to smoking. Conclusion: Considering the result of present study, practice about smoking wasn't acceptable. We need to target high risky group before they initiate smoking, so life skills training as an effective smoking prevention program should be designed in order to prevent smoking.