The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #45305

Sharon P. Brown, PhD(c), MN, MPH, Environmental HealthSciences & Policy - Public Health & Epidemiology, University of California-Irvine, School of Social Ecology, Irvine, CA 92697, 949-636-4350, spbrown@uci.edu

Children have continued to become addicted to tobacco despite great efforts to educate them about the risks of use. Although there has been a slight downward trend in the prevalence of tobacco use by youth, the question of why they continue to initiate use remains. This study was developed in an attempt to better understand the reasons for this use by youth in both elementary and middle school students.

The results of the first year of this longitudinal study based in North Carolina, the largest tobacco production and manufacturing state in the U.S., will be presented. Previous research has ignored the importance of information obtained from younger children, prior to their initiation of tobacco use. In this research, children as young as fourth and fifth graders will be compared to middle school students in regard to their perceptions of tobacco use risk, levels of health self-efficacy, and intra-personal character traits. Other factors related to the children’s social and physical environmental situations will also be discussed in relation to their influence on either their intention to use or actual tobacco use patterns.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, the participant will be able to 1)Identify differences in the types and levels of risk perceptions in elementary & middle school children; 2)Describe specific differences in risk attributed to tobacco use in these groups; and 3)Identify other potential factors associated with resiliency to tobacco use.

Keywords: Children's Health, Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.