Project Advancing Cessation of Tobacco in Vulnerable Indian Tobacco Consuming Youth (ACTIVITY) is a community-based group randomized intervention trial focused on disadvantaged youth (aged 10-19 years) residing in 14 low-income communities (slums and resettlement colonies) in Delhi, India. This article discusses the findings of Focus Group…

Background: Understanding the cognitive attributions of smoking has the potential to advance youth smoking prevention efforts; however, research on this subject is limited in Asian countries. We attempted to determine the degree to which cognitive attributions of smoking differ among adolescents in 2 Asian countries, Thailand and South Korea.…

This study involved the investigation of institutional coercion on the outcomes of program participants in an alcohol, tobacco, and other illegal substance prevention and intervention program. The researcher explored the importance of determining changes in pre-program characteristics of youths participating for 5, 8, or 12 weeks in an alcohol,…

Written for 8 to 12 year olds. The 21 activities use hands-on experience to facilitate youth learning, including concepts review and learning assessment at each chapter's end. A retrospective impact evaluation is included in the appendices along with additional resources, glossary, training outline and teaching tips. An accompanying cd-rom…

This study recruited 567 African American youth (mean age = 15.27 years; 65.1% girls) to examine the role of parent and peer contexts on drug use among African American adolescents. Data were collected on demographics, drug refusal efficacy, drug use, and various psychosocial factors including family and peer factors. When controlling for age and…

KIDS COUNT has used data to help call attention to emerging trends impacting kids in communities across the state. This year, the Colorado Children's Campaign marked the 25th birthday of KIDS COUNT in Colorado! by exploring this important question: What has changed for Colorado kids in the past 25 years? Long-term trends are not possible for every…

Expenditures on gambling advertisements and promotions in North America have increased to unprecedented rates. Youth are particularly vulnerable to pro-gambling messages, and underage gambling has become a critical public health crisis the solution of which necessitates an environmental approach. In this paper, we examine an analogous situation,…

Objective: The authors aim to quantify the extent, and to assess student perception, of alcohol and tobacco use among medical students at the University of Calgary, and the relationship of these attitudes to problem drinking (according to the CAGE questionnaire). Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to first-, second-, and third-year medical…

Smoking is an increasing problem among college-age individuals. Despite having the desire to quit smoking, many students are unable to achieve this goal. One factor that contributes to difficulties in the self-control of smoking is the effect of temptation contexts on the valuation of goals related to smoking cessation. Contextual cues may…

This article presents an in-depth case study of the Healthy Options for Prevention and Education Coalition's Teens Tackle Tobacco initiative, a 3-year community-based participatory research (CBPR) project about the distribution of tobacco vendors and tobacco advertising in Worcester, Massachusetts. Using two theoretical frameworks, positive youth…

Objective: The Internet represents a new and widely available forum for gambling. However, relatively few studies have examined Internet gambling in adolescents. This study sought to investigate the correlates of at-risk or problem gambling in adolescents acknowledging or denying gambling on the Internet. Method: Survey data from 2,006 Connecticut…

The influence of media on adolescents' health practices and behaviors, including personal values, beliefs, and perceived norms cannot be overstated. Youth media consumption continues to increase. Media messages are carefully designed to persuade the consumer to believe or do something. Some of the most persuasive media messages can be found in…

Background: We investigated the role of psychosocial and proximal contextual factors on nicotine dependence in adolescence. Methods: Data on a multiethnic cohort of 6th to 10th graders from the Chicago public schools were obtained from four household interviews conducted with adolescents over two years and one interview with mothers. Structural…

Objective: To assess smoking media literacy in a sample of Hungarian youth and to determine its association with current smoking and susceptibility to future smoking. Design: Quantitative cross-sectional survey. Setting: Four elementary and four high schools in Mako, Hungary. Method: A survey form was administered in regularly-scheduled classes to…

Objective: Because secondhand smoke is a public health concern, many colleges have adopted bans to ensure healthier environments. This study demonstrates how outdoor smoking policy change can be accomplished at a large public university. Participants: The participants were 1,537 students housed in residential communities at the University of…