Effects of an educational program on smoking in teenage girls

Abstract

A six-lesson educational smoking unit containing factual information, value clarification techniques, individual problem solving, small and large group discussion, and activity projects was designed to determine the effects of the program on attitude and behavior change. The freshmen females, enrolled during second semester, 1978-79, at Onalaska High School, Onalaska, Wisconsin, were randomly sampled to serve in the experimental and control group: 37 Ss participated in the experimental group and received the unit, 33 Ss participated in the control group and received an alternate health unit. The random sample posttest only design, as explained by Tuckman (1978), was used. All Ss received a posttest which consisted of the Teenage Self Test to test smoking attitudes and a researcher-made smoking behavior test. The data collected from the Ss on the attitude survey was analyzed by a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The level of significance was set at .05. Statistical analysis showed there was no significant attitude change after the educational program between the two groups. The data collected from the Ss in the area of behavior change was analyzed by a chi-square test. The level of significance was set at .05. Statistical analysis showed there was no change after the educational program, between the two groups. Thus it was concluded there is no significant attitude or behavior change after a six-lesson education unit in smoking.