TITLE:
Adapting the Stage of Change model to investigate adolescent behavior related to reducing second hand smoke exposure
AUTHORS:
Chris G. Richardson, Jennifer Schwartz, Laura L. Struik, Joan L. Bottorff
KEYWORDS:
Second Hand Smoke; Passive Smoke; Smoking; Stage of Change; Adolescents
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.3 No.2,
April
29,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Aims: Second hand
smoke (SHS) exposure is increasingly recognized as a major public health
concern. Assessing adolescents’ motivational level to avoid SHS is vital to
promote and reinforce reductions in SHS exposure. Methods: A brief measure
based on the Stage of Change model was developed to characterize adolescents’
behavior related to reducing SHS exposure and used to identify potential determinants
of SHS stage of change. The sample consisted of 1172 adolescents aged 13 to 15
years who participated in an internet-based cohort study of youth in British
Columbia, Canada. Results: Sixty-six percent of the adolescents reported they
had consistently made efforts to reduce exposure to SHS for more than 6 months,
while 19% did not intend to reduce their exposure to SHS in the next 6 months.
Adolescents’ SHS stage of change significantly differed by ethnicity, whether
they had tried cigarettes, amount of tobacco smoked in their lifetime, parental
and peer smoking statuses, past months’ exposure to SHS, frequent smoking in
the home, and home smoking restrictions (all p exposure. Conclusion: This
brief measure based
on the Stage of Change model can be used in future studies to
characterize adolescents’ behavior around SHS. Adolescents who smoke or have
parents and/or friends who smoke appear to be a population that could benefit
from stage-matched interventions designed to raise awareness of the risks
associated with SHS for smokers and non-smokers, and ultimately reduce SHS
exposure.