The self-efficacy of school principals and their influence on smoking prevention at school

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.