Effects of a smoking simulation intervention on fifth grade students' attitudes about smoking cigarettes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test an interactive smoking prevention program’s effectiveness in strengthening fifth grade students’ negative attitudes toward smoking cigarettes. The NICoteen™ Program is a commercial product marketed to the education field to education teenagers about the physical, emotional, financial, and social consequences of tobacco addiction. The program is a two-part educational tool. The first component consists of student and instructor materials. The materials are a compilation of worksheets and discussion topics that focus on various aspects of education. The second component is an interactive device that resembles a cigarette pack. The pack demonstrates to students the loss of control over their lives caused by addiction to cigarettes. The pack is designed to discourage smoking by subjecting the students to the smoking regimen that an addicted smoker must follow on a daily basis. Fifth grade teachers of Howard Lake-Waverly Middle School volunteered their classes to be asked to participate in the study. Two of the classes served as the intervention group while the third class served as the comparison group. Surveys were administered to all fifty-five students that participated in the study preceding the program and once again upon completion of the program. The surveys measured individual behavioral beliefs, perceived subjective norm and predicted level of self-control concerning a smoking addiction. Based on the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1988), these three concepts together form an intent to perform a given behavior. As, expected, the results of the study showed that the intervention group, but not the comparison group, shifted in their beliefs, perceived subjective norm and predicted level of self-control to form a stronger intention not to have a cigarette if an older child were to offer them one within the following year. Specific comparisons tests showed significant or marginally significant differences between the pre- and post-survey responses of the intervention group. These results suggest that the program has altered the intervention group’s intentions to not smoke cigarettes. The theory of planned behavior also proved quite useful in assessing the intervention. Overall, results were promising in their implications for the effectiveness of the NICoteen™ Program.