[The Course of E-Cigarette Use in Adolescence: A Cohort Study over 18 Months]. / Der Verlauf des E-Zigarettenkonsums im Jugendalter: Eine Kohortenstudie über 18 Monate.

AIM: Description of adolescent e-cigarette use over time. METHOD: In 2017 and 2019, 261 adolescents from North Rhine-Westphalia who had used e-cigarettes at least once a month (mean age: 14.9 years; 33.5 % female) took part in a questionnaire study. RESULTS: In 2017, 84 adolescents (32.2 %) reported exclusive e-cigarette use (single users), 177 adolescents were classified as dual users (67.8 %) because they consumed a tobacco product (conventional cigarette and/or hookah) in addition to e-cigarettes. During the observation period of 18 months, 83 adolescents (31.8 %) quit nicotine products altogether. Dual users quit nicotine less often than single users (N = 39 or 22.0 % vs. N = 44 or 52.4 %, p < 0.001). Seven single users (8.3 %) did not change their behavior, 11 began to use tobacco exclusively (13.1 %), another 22 (26.2 %) started dual use. Seventy-eight dual users (44.1 %) did not change their behavior, 57 (32.1 %) switched to tobacco use only, 3 dual users (1.7 %) stopped tobacco use, but continued to use e-cigarettes. Taken together, at the end of the study, 10 (5.6 %) of the remaining 178 adolescents consumed only e-cigarettes, while 168 (94.4 %) smoked tobacco or were dual-users. CONCLUSIONS: More than two thirds of all young e-cigarette users and more than three quarters of dual users also used nicotine products 18 months later. The remaining consumers showed a less frequent stay or switch to single use, instead a more frequent use of tobacco or dual use.

[Smoking in Adolescence in England and Germany, 2001 - 2016]. / Rauchen im Jugendalter in England und Deutschland, 2001 ­â€Š2016.

AIM: To describe the smoking behavior of adolescents from England and Germany over a period of 15 years. METHODS: Eleven repeated cross-sectional surveys involving a total of 107,485 persons aged 11 to 15 years were carried out between 2001 and 2016 in England and Germany. The following data were assessed: a) the relative proportion of young people who ever smoked a conventional tobacco product, and b) the relative proportion of adolescents, who were current smokers, i. e. teenagers who smoked "occasionally" or "constantly" or "regularly". RESULTS: In the observational period, there was a significant stronger reduction in the proportion of young people who ever smoked in Germany (from 52 % to 10 %) compared to England (from 44 % to 19 %). In the same period, the proportion of young people who smoked currently dropped by 16 percentage points to 3 % in Germany and by 12 percentage points to 7 % in England (no significant difference). CONCLUSIONS: Data indicate a stronger trend towards never smoking in Germany compared to England, and a similar falling trend on "current" smoking in both countries. Causal conclusions are not possible due to the study design.

Psychometric properties of the Autonomy over Tobacco Scale in German.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We investigated the psychometric properties of a German translation of the 12-item Autonomy over Tobacco Scale (AUTOS) among 1,195 eighth-grade students. METHODS: Data for this study were collected as part of the fourth wave of data collection of the Smokefree Class Competition intervention in the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany. Students from the control arm of the Smokefree Class Competition study who indicated that they had ever smoked 'at least a few puffs' on a cigarette were classified as ever-smokers. They self-completed questionnaires distributed by teachers. RESULTS: AUTOS scores ranged from 0 to 36 with a distribution highly skewed toward lower-response categories. Inter-item correlations ranged from 0.65 to 0.89 (mean = 0.79, SD = 0.06). Composite reliability for the AUTOS was high (Ω = 0.96) and 3 lower-order factors were also reliable (withdrawal: 0.89, psychological dependence: 0.91, cue-induced cravings: 0.87). Concurrent validity was supported by strong relationships between the AUTOS and both lifetime cigarette consumption and current smoking frequency. Youths were 18 times more likely to be current smokers (95% CI = 11.9-27.2, p < 0.001) if they endorsed any AUTOS item. CONCLUSION: The German AUTOS is reliable and valid, and the results are consistent with the English AUTOS for use with adolescents.

Influencing antecedents of adolescent risk-taking behaviour in elementary school: results of a 4-year quasi-experimental controlled trial.

Effects of the life skills programme 'Eigenständig werden' (Becoming independent) on life skills and on identified antecedents of adolescent health risk behaviour, childhood internalizing and externalizing behaviour were tested in an elementary school setting. A quasi-experimental controlled trial with five repeated measures was conducted. Participants were 919 students from 50 elementary schools in Saxony, Germany. Outcomes were assessed by teachers' ratings. Growth-curve models revealed that the rate of decline in internalizing and externalizing behaviour was significantly higher in the intervention group-especially for students with high baseline levels of externalizing behaviour (P < 0.01). No general programme effects on the development of skills could be found (P = 0.22). The current study provides evidence that life skills programmes in elementary school may be an effective strategy in reducing antecedents of adolescent risk-taking behaviour.

[Motivational interviewing of unemployed acceptance and effects of counselling to improve health-related behaviour]. / Motivierende Gesprächsführung mit Arbeitslosen Akzeptanz und Ergebnisse einer Beratung zur Verbesserung gesundheitsrelevanter Verhaltensweisen.

PURPOSE: Conception, implementation and evaluation of a risk-reducing and health-promoting brief intervention addressed to unemployed. METHOD: Control-group-study with repeated measurement. 131 unemployed took part in the intervention group and 95 persons were matched according to age and sex and served as a reference group. The intervention group were recruited via flyers, press articles and several institutions, the reference group via the journal of a health insurance company. The reference group received a questionnaire twice assessing the same health-related variables as the intervention group. INTERVENTION: In the intervention group, life style-related variables - eating habits, exercising, smoking, alcohol consumption - were assessed via questionnaire. In a one-hour counselling session based on Motivational Interviewing, participants received an individual feedback on their results of the questionnaire, including a comparison against standards and a review of their personal risks and negative consequences as well as advice and recommendations, while the decision for or against a behaviour change was left to the participant. RESULTS: 85.2 % of the participants of the intervention reported that the counselling met their expectations, and 86.2 % would recommend the intervention to a friend. Statistically significant effects for the intervention group compared to the control group from pre- to post-measurement could be shown for alcohol consumption, eating habits, and exercise (p

[Evaluation of the 2003 tobacco tax increase in Germany]. / Evaluation der Tabaksteuererhöhung vom 1. Januar 2003.

Implementation, acceptance, and effects of the increase in tobacco tax were examined. For this purpose representative samples were assessed before and after the increase of tobacco tax. Furthermore, official data on tax receipts were analyzed. The increase of tobacco tax was passed only partly to the consumer. 57 smokers (4.0%) stopped smoking because of the increase, and 11.9% reduced the amount of cigarettes consumed. The average number of cigarettes consumed was decreased by 0.06% (price elasticity of -0.01). On the basis of the official data, a relative decrease of 5.8% of cigarettes was observed (price elasticity of -1.04 for cigarettes from vending machines). The rather slight increase of price caused smokers to reflect on their smoking behavior. The amount of cigarettes used changed in the official data and in the subsample of younger subjects.

[Development, implementation and evaluation of a program for the cessation of smoking for adolescents and young adult smokers]. / Entwicklung, Implementation und Evaluation eines Programms zur Entwöhnung vom Rauchen für jugendliche und junge erwachsene Raucher.

AIM: Assessment of the smoking cessation programme "Just be smoke free". METHOD: Follow-up data assessment of the participants who registered for the programme between April 2002 and March 2003. INTERVENTION: "Just be smoke free" is a smoking cessation programme targeting adolescents and young adults. Target groups are not only smokers, but also non- and ex-smokers. Moreover the project takes into account the different stages smokers undergo with regard to their motivation to stop smoking. Smokers who are not prepared to quit smoking are offered an individualised "smoker's profile" in order to sensitise them to their smoking behaviour, motives and risk situations. Smokers who are prepared to give up, are provided with a self-help cessation manual. As an incentive, on four occasions per year, participants can win cash prizes of up to 1,000 Euro. RESULTS: From April 2002 to March 2003, 1,417 smokers registered for the programme, of which 1,265 wanted to quit and 152 were interested in a "smoker's profile". The mean age of the participants was 21.5 years and 56.7 % were female. In addition, 2,132 used the internet page for the programme. 408 smokers took part in the follow-up measurement (retention rate 32.3 %). Of these, 46.1 % (N = 188) reported to have ceased to smoke. In a projected analysis considering those who did not take part in the follow-up measurement as smokers - the quit rate was 14.9 %. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of smoking adolescents and young adults were covered by the programme. The quit rate can be considered as good, also in comparison to international smoking cessation studies.

Parental alcohol use disorders and alcohol use and disorders in offspring: a community study.

BACKGROUND: We examined the association between parental alcohol use disorders and patterns of alcohol consumption and DSM-IV alcohol use disorders in their offspring in a community-based sample of young adults. METHODS: Data are based on baseline and 4-year follow-up data of 2427 respondents aged 14-24 at baseline. Alcohol use and disorders in respondents were assessed using the Munich-Composite-international-Diagnostic-Interview with DSM-IV algorithms. Diagnostic information about parents was collected by family history information from the respondents, and by direct interview with one parent (cohort aged 14 to 17 years only). RESULTS: Although the association between maternal and paternal alcohol use disorders and non-problematical drinking in offspring was minimal, there was a strong effect for the transition to hazardous use and for alcohol abuse and dependence; the effect of parental concordance for transition into hazardous use was particularly striking. Maternal history was associated with a higher probability of progression from occasional to regular use, whereas paternal history was associated with progression from regular to hazardous use. Parental alcoholism increased the risk for first onset of hazardous use and alcohol dependence between the ages of 14-17, and for an earlier onset of the alcohol outcomes in offspring. The impact of parental alcohol use disorders was comparable for male and female offspring. CONCLUSIONS: Parental alcoholism predicts escalation of alcohol use, development of alcohol use disorders and onset of alcohol outcomes in offspring.

The Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology Study (EDSP): a methodological update.

The objectives of the community-based Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology (EDSP) Study are described along with a detailed account of the overall design, special design features, sample characteristics and instruments used. The EDSP employed a prospective-longitudinal design to study substance use and other mental disorders in a representative population sample of 3,021 subjects aged 14-24 years (birth cohorts 1970-1981) at 'baseline' - the outset of the study. Two follow-up investigations were conducted after the baseline investigation covering an overall period of 3-4 years. Special design features are the linkage with a family supplement (EDSP-FS) as well as neurobiological laboratory studies of high-risk subjects.