PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W H Snow

Publications and source records attributed to W H Snow.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

School-based tobacco use prevention.

Although school-based tobacco use prevention programs have had limited short-term success, questions remain about whether these programs would have the same degree of success with youths at risk for habitual tobacco use. This article describes a pilot project to discriminate these high-risk youths from low-risk youths. Two hundred twenty-five consenting youths from a western state completed a questionnaire containing individual, demographic, and environmental correlates of habitual tobacco use. The total sample consisted of 105 males and 119 females. Nineteen percent came from ethnic minorities, and 69% were from traditional households. Discriminant function analyses identified correlates that discriminated between current tobacco users and nonusers as well as students intending to use tobacco from those who did not.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Stress management with adolescents at the junior high transition: an outcome evaluation of coping skills intervention.

This paper reports an outcome study of coping skills intervention to help adolescents manage stress associated with the transition from elementary school to junior high. In a randomized design, sixth grade students from four elementary schools were pretested, then two schools each were assigned to an intervention condition and to a control condition. Intervention condition subjects received eight sessions of instruction and practice in coping skills intervention. Following intervention, all subjects were posttested. At posttest and relative to control condition subjects, intervention condition subjects scored more positively on measures of problem solving, assertive direct refusals, adequacy of information about junior high school, ability to handle stress, ability to deal with peer pressure, and general readiness for junior high school.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Self-control skills for preventing smoking.

This study evaluated the effects of self-control skills intervention to prevent smoking with middle school subjects. Informed and consenting subjects were pretested, then by school were randomly divided into three conditions: experimental, placebo, and test-only control. Experimental condition subjects received self-control skills intervention covering self-instruction, self-reinforcement, problem solving, and interpersonal communication. Placebo condition subjects received a discussion-oriented intervention employing health education methods to prevent smoking. Results at 15-month follow-up indicated that self-control and placebo condition subjects, relative to control condition subjects, improved more on measures of health knowledge and nonsmoking intentions. Self-control skills subjects had better 15-month follow-up scores than subjects in the other two conditions on measures of communication, self-instruction, self-praise, cigarette refusals, and noncompliance to smoke. Self-control condition subjects reported less weekly cigarette smoking compared with placebo and control condition subjects at final follow-up.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Skills methods to prevent smoking.

School health educators have devoted much attention to cigarette smoking. Recent years have seen the testing of interventions to prevent smoking. To date, controlled studies have not evaluated the added value of skills methods for preventing smoking. This article describes such an evaluation with sixth-grade students from two schools. Subjects were pretested and randomly assigned to receive conventional health education methods or to receive skills intervention. Both conditions included films, peer testimonials, discussions, and homework. Health education condition subjects additionally participated in oral quizzes, games, and debates. Skills condition subjects additionally learned problem-solving, self-instruction, and interpersonal communication methods. At postintervention, skills condition subjects, more than health education condition subjects, had better scores on measures of smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and intentions. In addition, reported cigarette use, validated by biochemical data collection, was lower in the skills condition than in the health education condition at all postintervention measurements, including a 24-month follow-up. The article discusses the strengths, limits, and implications of the study for other smoking prevention efforts in schools.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1985

Skills-building methods to prevent smoking by adolescents.

This study evaluated cigarette smoking prevention methods with a sample of adolescent females and males. Arranged by school, 331 informed and consenting sixth graders were randomly divided into four groups: 1) pretest, skills-building methods, posttest; 2) pretest, discussion methods, posttest; 3) pretest and posttest; and 4) posttest only. All subjects were followed for 6 and 15 months after the posttest. Outcome results on measures of non-smoking intentions, attitudes, predictions, problem-solving abilities, and peer interactions favored subjects in the skills-building group when compared with subjects in the discussion and pretest-posttest control groups. Smoking rates at posttest and at both follow-ups were lower in the skills-building group than in the other three groups. Results from posttest-only subjects did not support pretest reactivity. The study's strengths and limits are discussed along with directions for future smoking prevention research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The relationship of cognitive and behavioral skills to adolescent tobacco smoking.

This study examined an assumption held by many smoking prevention programs that social skills can affect the onset of tobacco smoking. Data from 129 sixth graders were used to predict smoking behavior 15 months later in seventh grade. Five skill variables emerged as the best predictors of future smoking. By analyzing discriminant scores based on individual levels of social skills, the investigators were able to accurately classify 80% of the students surveyed as smokers or nonsmokers. Measures of social skills accounted for 29% of the variation in adolescent smoking behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Skills intervention to prevent cigarette smoking among adolescents.

Skills intervention to prevent cigarette smoking was evaluated with 689 adolescents. At 24-month follow-up, youths who received health information and skills intervention had lower intentions to smoke and less cigarette use than youths who received health information alone and youths who received no intervention. Conclusions about the effects of skills intervention are strengthened by the common preparation and random assignment of intervention leaders and by process measurement data.

Adolescent↗