Factors associated with smoking refusal self-efficacy among Finnish and Portuguese early adolescents

ABSTRACT

Background

Research indicates that refusal self-efficacy predicts adolescent smoking behavior and needs to be addressed in health education programs. Developing such programs requires examining the factors associated with smoking refusal self-efficacy in the target group. Thus, our study examined factors associated with smoking refusal self-efficacy among early adolescents in Finland and Portugal.

Methods

Self-reported data on smoking refusal self-efficacy, smoking outcome expectations, smoking-related attitudes, motives, and motivations were obtained from 295 early adolescents, and analyzed using a logistic regression and correlation calculations.

Results

Experiences with tobacco, smoking-related attitudes and motives, the motivation to refrain from smoking in the future, and smoking outcome expectations were associated with smoking refusal self-efficacy. Gender, and the smoking behavior of relatives and friends were independent predictors of smoking refusal self-efficacy. The findings were similar in both countries.

Conclusions

Our results strengthen the notion that parental smoking is not associated with smoking refusal self-efficacy of early adolescents but smoking by friends and relatives and gender favoring girls are. Thus, health education programs aiming to support early adolescent smoking refusal self-efficacy need to consider the role of peer influence and the social acceptance of smoking and place more emphasis on effectively supporting boys’ smoking refusal self-efficacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescence
• tobacco
• self-efficacy
• health behavior
• health education

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank all the early adolescents who participated this study as well as the participating schools and school personnel in Finland and Portugal.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The original intervention studies were supported by the University of Turku under Grant 161/25/2015; the City of Turku under Grant 14040-2013 (059); the Juho Vainio Foundation under Grant 201510389; the Research Foundation of the Pulmonary Diseases; the TYKS Foundation; and the Finnish Association of Nursing Research.