ABSTRACT
The progress and development of society in every sense is possible by raising healthy individuals. To do so, it is necessary to ensure the physical and mental development of children in a healthy way. There are many variables that affect the physical and mental development of children. These variables are affected by individual factors, social structure, social interactions and cultural values. In addition, when these factors interact with each other, their effect on behavior and well-being may increase. Undoubtedly, one of the primary factors negatively affecting a child's physical and psychological development is the adverse economic conditions and hardships experienced by his/her family and consequently, by the child. Increasing poverty hinders children's access to resources, and thus negatively affects their mental health as well as their physical development. Furthermore, positive economic conditions pave the way for an improved environment, better nutrition, higher-quality education, elevated social status, more friends, reduced feelings of loneliness, and increased social support and trust and all of these positively contribute to psychological well-being. Therefore, based on the conviction that early interventions can be protective and screening is needed to determine the proper intervention, this study aims to investigate the relationship between psychological well-being, loneliness, social support and social trust, all of which affect the psychological health of children living in economically disadvantaged families. To this end, answers to the following questions were sought. Is there a significant relationship between the loneliness, social support, social trust and psychological well-being of the children from low-income families? Do the feelings of loneliness, social support and social trust of the children from low-income families significantly predict their psychological well-being?
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cigarette pack design plays a crucial role in attracting customers, especially when other marketing methods are limited by policy. University students who engage in casual smoking take the risk of developing an addiction. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of plain packaging (PP) and graphic health warnings (GHWs) on cigarette packages on three outcome variables (negative affect, avoidant responses, and intentions to quit) among ever-smoker university students in Ankara, Turkey, where youth smoking prevalence is high. METHODS: An online survey-based experiment was used to collect data. The respondents were randomly assigned to one of the five conditions that contained images of cigarette packs with specific design elements. Regression analyses (n = 623) were used to compare across conditions and to estimate the effects of combined warnings (versus text-only warnings), stronger GHWs (versus old GHWs), and PP (versus branded packages) on the outcome variables, accounting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Stronger GHWs generated more negative affect (0.31 points out of 5, p = 0.010) and avoidant responses (0.42 points out of 5, p = 0.002) than old warnings (when brand logos were visible). Plain packages generated more negative affect (0.48 points out of 5, p < 0.001) and avoidant responses (0.46 points out of 5, p = 0.001) than branded packages (with old warnings). Disentangling the effects of PP and new GHWs revealed that neither had individual differential effect on intentions to quit within 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although no differential effect of PP or harsher GHWs was found on intentions to quit when respondents were exposed to images on screen, both design elements were found to be effective in generating negative affect and avoidant responses. More work is needed to design effective tobacco control measures among youth during critical years of tertiary education.
