ERIC Number: EJ1417980
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1648-3898
EISSN: EISSN-2538-7138
Available Date: N/A
Explanation of High School Students' Smoking Behavior: A Structural Equation Model Approach with the Theory of Planned Behavior
Dilek Sultan Acarli; Melek Yaman Kasap
Journal of Baltic Science Education, v14 n2 p172-182 2015
Smoking is a worldwide problem that threatens people's health. The average age of smokers has decreased with each passing day. Thus, studies focusing on preventing children or teenagers from starting smoking or studies aiming to help people quit smoking are one of the most effective ways of the fight against smoking. In order to prevent smoking behavior of young people it is necessary to thoroughly examine the reasons of such behavior. In this study, smoking behavior of high school students was examined in the framework of Planned Behavior Theory, which is a sociopsychological theory (TPB, Ajzen, 1985). With the structural equation model, which was constructed by taking TPB components into account, factors affecting students' smoking behavior were determined. Theory of Planned Behavior has explained the smoking behaviors of the participants in 72%. It was seen that the most important TPB component that affects students' behavior is attitude, which is followed by subjective norm and perceived behavior control, respectively. The results indicate that one should work on attitude first and foremost, and thus on behavioral beliefs in order to make changes in the students' tendency to smoke, in other words, in their behavior.
Descriptors: High School Students, Smoking, Health Behavior, Prevention, Behavior Theories, Guidelines, Student Attitudes, Behavior Change, Attitude Change, Foreign Countries
Scientia Socialis Ltd. 29 K. Donelaicio Street, LT-78115 Siauliai, Republic of Lithuania. e-mail: scientia@scientiasocialis.lt; e-mail: mail.jbse@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.scientiasocialis.lt/jbse/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Turkey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A