Social cognitive factors associated with physical activity in elementary school girls.

OBJECTIVE: To examine social cognitive factors associated with physical activity (PA) among preadolescent girls. METHOD: Social cognitive theory was used to examine PA in girls (N=90; 71% African American) participating in Girls on the Run. Multiple regressions explored factors associated with PA at posttesting and 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Significant increases in PA, social influences, and self-efficacy were found, which were sustained at 3-month follow-up. Self-efficacy and social influences had the strongest relations to PA at posttest; self-efficacy remained the strongest predictor of PA at 3-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Social support and self-efficacy are important targets of PA interventions in preadolescent girls.

Rural adolescent attitudes toward smoking and weight loss: relationship to smoking status.

Perceptions that smoking contributes to weight loss are widespread among youth. We examined the association between weight loss and smoking to determine whether supportive attitudes were associated with smoking status and whether this is a particular problem in rural areas. High school students (N=730) completed a survey assessing smoking-related characteristics and behaviors. Attitudes assessed included perceptions of whether weight concerns were the reasons others smoke and personal beliefs about tobacco's effect on weight gain. Smoking status was categorized as never (44%), experimental (42%), and current (14%). Multinomial logistic regressions investigated relationships between attitudes and smoking, adjusting for weight goals, gender, ethnicity, parent/peer smoking, and body mass index. Both attitudinal measures were associated with smoking (p< .05). Nonsmokers and experimental smokers were more likely than current smokers to believe that people smoke to lose weight. Although current smokers were less likely to report that others smoke for weight control, they believed they would gain weight if they quit. Conversely, nonsmokers and experimental smokers were less likely to believe they would gain weight if they do not smoke compared with current smokers. Thus personal attitudes differ from attitudes toward others with respect to weight loss and smoking. Moreover, endorsement of these attitudes can reliably distinguish current versus experimental smokers and may help better clarify the transition to current smoker. Because weight concerns are a significant factor in youth smoking, these issues should be included in intervention efforts, particularly in rural communities where smoking rates are higher and age at initiation is earlier.

Diet-specific social support among rural adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The relationships among primary sources of social support in adolescents' environments (family and friends) and eating behaviors (fat and fiber consumption) were examined in a sample of rural adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional baseline health surveys were administered in classrooms as part of a larger randomized trial evaluating a cancer education program. SETTING: Data were collected in middle schools drawn from 22 rural counties in Virginia and New York. PARTICIPANTS: 1942 sixth graders with a modal age of 12 years, roughly equal gender distribution, and racially diverse (53% white, 37% black). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Variables included a 10-item scale of social support from family and friends for healthy eating, a brief food frequency questionnaire estimating daily grams of fat and fiber intake, and demographics (age, gender, race). ANALYSIS: Hierarchical multiple regressions and analyses of variance (ANOVAs). RESULTS: Controlling for demographics, family and friend support were found to significantly predict fat (P < .05) and fiber (P < .01) intake. Black respondents reported higher support from friends than did white adolescents (F = 47.49, P < .01). IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE: Support for healthful eating was related to healthful dietary practices and differed among racial subgroups. Identifying and fostering sources of positive support for healthful eating is critical to developing effective health promotion programs targeting high-risk adolescents.

Psychosocial factors associated with non-smoking adolescents' intentions to smoke.

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States. Most adult smokers began smoking during adolescence, making youth tobacco prevention an especially important public health goal. Guided by an extension of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study examined the role of psychosocial factors in accounting for adolescents' smoking intentions. Participants from three high schools (n = 785) were surveyed to assess smoking-related characteristics and behaviors as part of a statewide evaluation of tobacco prevention programming. Attitudes, subjective norms (and other normative factors) and perceived behavioral control were all associated with non-smokers' intentions to smoke. Having more favorable attitudes toward remaining tobacco free and perceiving that friends would not be supportive of smoking were both associated with decreased likelihood of intending to smoke. Normative influence and peer use were significant factors, such that having more friends who smoke was associated with increased odds of intent to smoke. Lastly, perceived difficulty to quit was related to smoking intentions, with higher confidence to quit significantly associated with intentions to smoke. Findings are consistent with the TPB--attitudes, normative factors and perceived behavioral control each helped account for non-smoking adolescents' intentions to smoke. Implications for theory and intervention building are discussed.

Cancer prevention among rural youth: building a "bridge" to better health with genealogy.

BACKGROUND: The Bridge to Better Health (BRIDGE) project is a program that focuses on providing rural high school youth with motivation, knowledge, and skills essential to cancer prevention. In this pilot intervention, we used instruction in personal health genealogy as a means of increasing awareness and knowledge of health risk and motivation to change several screening and cancer-related behaviors. METHODS: We administered a Bridge to Better Health survey to 173 ninth- and 10th-grade students from a rural Southeastern Virginia high school before and after delivery of the BRIDGE pilot intervention. RESULTS: Significant preintervention to postintervention changes were observed for general genealogy knowledge, personal health genealogy, self-efficacy, and intention to practice self-examinations (breast, testicular, and skin) and eating a high-fiber and low-fat diet. CONCLUSION: These project results demonstrate the importance of theory-driven interventions for increasing cancer knowledge and changing cancer-related dietary and screening behaviors.

Differences in food intake and exercise by smoking status in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Smoking, diet, and lack of exercise are the top preventable causes of death in the United States. Some 23% of high school students currently smoke and many teens do not meet Healthy People 2010 standards for healthy eating or physical activity. This study examined the relationship between smoking and the consumption of fruit, vegetables, milk/dairy products and the frequency of exercise in 10,635 Virginia youth. METHODS: Survey data were collected from middle school (MS; n = 8022) and high school (HS; n = 2613) adolescents participating in youth tobacco prevention/cessation programs. Data were analyzed using chi-square bivariate tests and multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Smokers were significantly less likely than nonsmokers to exercise > or = 3x week and to consume > or = 1 serving/day of vegetables or milk/dairy products. This was more evident in high school than middle school students and in females compared to males. In both HS and MS, a dose-response relationship was detected with higher level smoking associated with lower frequency of eating specified food and exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking is associated with compromised intake of healthy food and exercise. To decrease incident cases of chronic disease later in life, new tailored, innovative interventions are needed that address multiple health behaviors in youth.

Racial and gender differences in the diets of rural youth and their mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To examine mother-child dietary concordance that may contribute to healthy eating practices critical to cancer prevention in underserved rural families. METHODS: A brief food frequency questionnaire was administered to 404 sixth-graders and their mothers in rural Virginia and New York. RESULTS: Significant dietary fat concordance rates were indicated for mother-daughter dyads only. A 3-way interaction revealed that African American girls with mothers who report high fat intake are at highest risk for health-compromis ing dietary behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions may need to differ entially motivate male and female adolescents and incorporate familial and cultural influences to pro mote healthy eating in rural youth.