The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #70280

Sharon P. Brown, PhD(c), MN, MPH, Environmental Health Sciences & Policy - Public Health & Epidemiology, University of California-Irvine, School of Social Ecology, Irvine, CA 92697, 520.297.2424, spbrown@uci.edu

Children live within multiple environments, all of which have the potential to influence their resultant health behaviors. This session will describe the specific results found regarding the influences of both social and physical environments on children’s intentions to use tobacco products. Presented will be the cross-sectional analysis of these environmental influences from a larger longitudinal study, conducted in both North Carolina and California, which explored the possible connections between elementary [4th & 5th] and middle [6th thru 8th] school students’ perception of the risk of tobacco use, their perceived health self-efficacy levels, and certain intra-personal trait characteristics in relation to their actual or intended tobacco use prevalence rates. Initial analyses have resulted in significant differences being found in children’s perceptions of health risks associated with varied categories of tobacco products use. Elementary ages were less likely to have significant differences [0.05 level] in their actual vs. intended use of tobacco for the categories of specific risks associated with smoking cigarettes [0.09], using chewing tobacco [0.49], and environmental tobacco smoke exposure [0.33]. Further analysis via multi-level modeling for the children’s individual social and physical environmental influences, such as parental smoking patterns and closest friend’s tobacco use status [social], and proximity to actual tobacco production and/or exposure to environmental tobacco smoke [ETS] in the home [physical], will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, participants will be able to 1)Identify both physical and social environmental influences on children's intentions to use tobacco, 2)Differentiate these influnces by elementary and middle school levels, and 3)Describe the influence of parental smoking patterns on children's intentions to use tobacco

Keywords: Environmental Health Hazards, 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.