Adolescent Tobacco and Betel Nut Use in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands: Evidence From Guam

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of, and the risk and protective factors associated with, tobacco product use among adolescents in Guam, a US-Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) territory. To examine disparities in risk and protective factors across indigenous and nonindigenous groups. Design: Quantitative; cross-sectional. Setting: Middle and high schools in Guam. Sample: The Global Youth Tobacco Survey sample included a representative sample of 2449 6th to 12th graders (71% response rate). Sample for the supplemental study included 670 middle school students (76% response rate across randomly selected classrooms). Measures: Self-reported measures of lifetime and past 30-day tobacco and betel nut use, social competence, resistance self-efficacy, risk perceptions, friend and family tobacco product use, and ease of access to tobacco products. Analysis: Multilevel logistic regression and analysis of covariance. Results: The prevalence rates of current cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and e-cigarette use among middle school students were 8%, 8%, and 25%, respectively. Ability to resist social pressure to use tobacco/betel nut use was strongly associated with lower likelihood of tobacco (odds ratio [OR] = 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.68-0.84) and betel nut use (OR = 0.74; 95% CI: 0.67-0.82). Indigenous Pacific Islanders scored significantly lower on protective and higher on risk factors. Conclusion: Tobacco product use rates among Guam middle school students appear to be 4 to 5 times higher than the US national average rates. There is an urgent need for developing tobacco and betel nut use prevention programs for USAPI youth that are tailored to the needs of indigenous Pacific Islanders.

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Predictors of Protective Factors for Internet Game Addiction in Middle School Students using Data Mining Decision Tree Analysis

Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing ◽

10.12934/jkpmhn.2014.23.1.12 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 12 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Young-Ran Kweon ◽

Se-Young Kim

Keyword(s):

Data Mining ◽

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Decision Tree ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Decision Tree Analysis ◽

School Students ◽

Tree Analysis ◽

Game Addiction ◽

Using Data

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Perception and Current Use of E-cigarettes Among Youth in China

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1093/ntr/nty145 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. 1401-1407 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Lin Xiao ◽

Mark Parascandola ◽

Congxiao Wang ◽

Yuan Jiang

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Tobacco Use ◽

Tobacco Product ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

School Students ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Never Smokers ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Introduction This study provides nationally representative estimates of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youth in China and explores the factors associated with awareness and use of e-cigarettes and the relationship between e-cigarette and conventional tobacco use. Methods This study examined data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, which was completed by 155 117 middle school students (51.8% boys and 48.2% girls) in China, and employed a multistage stratified cluster sampling design. For data analysis, SAS 9.3 complex survey procedures were used, and logistic regression was used to explore factors associated with e-cigarette use and the relationship between e-cigarette and conventional tobacco use. Results About 45.0% of middle school students had heard of e-cigarettes, but only 1.2% reported using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. Among never-smokers, e-cigarette users were more likely to intend to use a tobacco product in the next 12 months than nonusers (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 6.970, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.474% to 10.857%), and more likely to say that they would enjoy smoking a cigarette (adjusted OR = 14.633, 95% CI = 11.328% to 18.902%). E-cigarette use was associated with previous experimentation with cigarette smoking (OR = 3.2), having noticed tobacco advertising in the past 30 days (OR = 2.7), having close friends who smoke (OR = 1.4), and thinking tobacco helps people feel more comfortable in social situations (OR = 3.3) and makes young people look more attractive (OR = 1.3). Conclusions E-cigarette use among youth in China remains low but awareness is high. E-cigarette use was associated with increased intentions to use tobacco. Enhanced prevention efforts are needed targeting e-cigarette use among youth. Implications This study is the first nationally representative survey of e-cigarette use among youth in China. It found that among middle school students, prevalence of e-cigarette use is 1.2% and prevalence of e-cigarette awareness is 45.0%. Chinese youths use e-cigarettes as a tobacco product rather than an aid to quitting. Among never-smokers, e-cigarette users were more likely to have intentions to use a tobacco product in the next 12 months, more likely to use a tobacco product offered by their best friends and enjoy smoking a cigarette than nonusers.

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Strategies and Tools to Embrace Prevention with Upstream Programs: A Novel Pilot Program for Enhancing Social and Emotional Protective Factors in Middle School Students

Children & Schools ◽

10.1093/cs/cdz020 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 213-220

Author(s):

M Amaris Knight ◽

Amanda Haboush-Deloye ◽

Pamela M Goldberg ◽

Kelly Grob

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Problem Behaviors ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Intervention Group ◽

School Students ◽

Negative Behaviors ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

Quasi Experimental

Abstract Social–emotional learning (SEL) programs can be considered upstream, or primary prevention, because they focus on providing students with the life skills necessary to navigate situations and relationships from which problem behaviors may arise to prevent a crisis situation. Strategies & Tools to Embrace Prevention with Upstream Programs (SEL@MS, formerly known as STEP UP) is a comprehensive SEL curriculum for middle school students aimed at promoting universal prevention strategies for healthy populations. SEL@MS enhances protective factors against negative behaviors by reinforcing multilevel approaches to strengthening community, interpersonal, and individual attributes with lesson plans that can be integrated into school curricula. This quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted over the course of two years with 59 middle school students assigned to either the intervention (n = 27) or control (n = 32) group. Analyses demonstrated significant improvements among students in the intervention group in self-regulation, responsibility, social competence, and empathy. Results of this study suggest that SEL@MS is a promising approach to enhance social and emotional protective factors that, when fostered over time, have the potential to improve overall mental health.

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