Ma. Hernandez-mezquita et al., The self-efficacy of school principals and their influence on smoking prevention at school, ARCH BRONCO, 37(3), 2001, pp. 115-120
INTRODUCTION: Self-efficacy is a psychological variable that has scarcely b
een taken into account in approaches to smoking prevention among young peop
le. The self-efficacy of school principals may play a role in schools that
truly comply with their mission of preventing or limiting the influence of
smoking among students.
OBJECTIVE: To know the degree to which self-efficacy of school principals i
nfluences behavior toward smoking in their schools, assessed as attitude of
students toward smoking, the degree of compliance with official anti-smoki
ng laws and the content of anti-smoking campaigns undertaken.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire was designed and sent to 3050 school
principals to assess their level of self-efficacy in reducing the percentag
e of smoking students, the behavior of students and teachers with regard to
smoking, the degree of compliance at school with anti-smoking laws and the
content of anti-smoking campaigns undertaken. The data were codified and a
nalyzed using appropriate statistical tests for each type of variable.
RESULTS: Mean self-efficacy scores of the school principals for reducing th
e prevalence of smoking in their centers was 38.7 (SD 30.86) points on a sc
ale of 100. The score was 40.18 (SD 30.8) where anti-smoking campaigns were
undertaken and 34.31 (SD 30.43) where they were not. The mean score was 40
.09 (SD 30.8) where anti-smoking posters were visible and 36.68 (SD 30.75)
where no posters were hung (p < 0.05). The mean score of centers whose prin
cipals reported requiring compliance with anti-smoking laws was 39.78 (SD 3
0.8) and for schools where the law was not followed the score was 36.12 (SD
30.9) (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Schools whose principals have higher levels of self-efficacy d
isplay better general levels of functioning and a higher level of complianc
e with law and anti-smoking curricula. It seems necessary to direct efforts
toward strategies to improve principals' self-efficacy for the prevention
of smoking.