Me. Kurtz et al., EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO-SMOKE - PERCEPTIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS, Preventive medicine, 25(3), 1996, pp. 286-292
Citations number
31
Categorie Soggetti
Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath","Medicine, General & Internal
Background. A study was designed to investigate the knowledge, attitud
es, and preventive efforts with regard to exposure to environmental to
bacco smoke (ETS) among a sample of urban African American children an
d adolescents. Methods. A sample of 675 students enrolled in grades 5
through 12 in an urban public school district located in the greater m
etropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan, was surveyed. Results. Smoking
rates among students were higher if someone else in the home was a smo
ker and lower if there were no other smokers in the home. Forty-eight
percent of the students reported that their fathers smoked, while 46%
reported mothers who smoked. In each of the areas knowledge, attitudes
, and preventive efforts, elementary students scored highest and middl
e school students scored lowest. Attitude scores were higher if the mo
ther or father was a nonsmoker, and nonsmokers scored higher than smok
ers on knowledge, attitudes, and preventive efforts. Students' prevent
ive efforts were significantly predicted by their knowledge, attitudes
, and gender, while their attitudes were in turn predicted by their kn
owledge, gender, school level, and smoking status and by the proportio
n of their friends who were smokers. Students' knowledge was significa
ntly predicted by their gender and school level and by the proportion
of their siblings who were smokers. Conclusions. It is apparent that m
any of the African American students surveyed in this study experience
significant exposure to ETS, particularly in the home. As is evident
from the literature, this has implications for the long term health of
these youngsters. Health education and promotion efforts should be di
rected not only toward the students themselves, but should also addres
s the smoking behavior of parents and others in the home environment.
(C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.