Family Environment Factors to Impact on the Effect of the Smoking Prevention Educational Program for Elementary and Junior High School Students

Abstract

Smoking is a major health problem in many countries. It has been reported on the effects of education on youth with a reduced smoking rate and developed awareness of avoiding smoking verified as a result of educational intervention. The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between sex, school age, and family smoking and the effectiveness of smoking prevention education program (SPEP) as factors that impact the effectiveness of SPEP in elementary school and junior high school students. The participants in this survey were 6676 students, who attended elementary and junior high schools in Tokushima Prefecture between 2011 and 2015, and attended the SPEP. As factors that influence the effectiveness of the SPEP, we examined school types, sex, smokers in the family. Participants were asked the following questions before and after the SPEP to measure awareness of and attitudes toward smoking: “intention not to smoke cigarettes as adults”, “intention to refuse cigarettes when offered”, “attitude of staying away from smokers”, and “desire that their family will not smoke”. The number of survey collected was 6676, with effective responses from 5974 (90%). Among the 5974, there were 2963 (50%) males and 3011 (50%) females, 5106 elementary school students (86%), and 868 junior high school students (15%). Findings showed that having smokers in the family affects not only children’s intention and attitude toward smoking, but also the effectiveness of smoking prevention education. Especially, it was difficult to improve children’s “intention not to smoke as adults”, “intention to refuse cigarettes when offered”, “attitude of staying away from smokers”, and “desire that their family will not smoke”. Therefore, it was thought that SPEP to be less effective, in mentioned situation, in improving awareness of and attitudes toward smoking among elementary and junior high school students.