Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [121]-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [121]-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thirty-two cigarette smokers received six sessions of rapid smoking after which they were randomly assigned to one of four maintenance conditions, The conditions were (a) contingency contracting, (b) social support, (c) a continuation of rapid smoking and (d) a minimal contact control group, A total of seven maintenance sessions were scheduled for each maintenance group, and they were spread over a three month period. At the end of the maintenance period the control group was smoking at baseline level again. No differences between the maintenance groups were detected, However, the contracting group and the social support group were smoking significantly less than the control group.

This study examined the effects of a smoking prevention program on the acquisition of refusal skills in junior high school students. Sixty-three seventh graders were randomly assigned to a refusal skill training group (N=29) or a no treatment control group (N=34). Students' refusal skill performance was assessed pre and post training. Assessment consisted of a peer trainer offering the student a cigarette while being videotaped. The smoking refusal skill was broken down into 5 component parts: (1) eye contact; (2) upright posture; (3) voice intonation; (4) response to approach; (5) reason for refusal. Results showed significant improvement for both the training and control groups. However, a significant training by pre-post assessment interaction was also found, F (1,61) = 10.37, p < .01, which indicates that students who received training demonstrated more proficiency in refusal performance after training than those who did not. A generalization probe in the natural environment conducted seven weeks after training showed no differences between the two groups.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of health related feedback as a positive reinforcer of abstinence from smoking during the 11 week period following cessation. Fifty-three subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) maintenance program plus health related feedback (MF), (b) maintenance program only (M) and, (c) discussion control (D). All groups received an aversive treatment for smoking after which the MP group received coping skills raining and several forms of health related feedback, the M group received coping skills training only, and the D group received discussion. Groups did not differ significantly in abstinence at each of the 11 weeks.

This study aimed to use the Transtheoretical Model of behaviour change (Prochaska and DiClemente, 1983) to investigate the process of smoking initiation in a cross-section of high school adolescents in urban KwaZulu-Natal. This aim was informed by the increase in incidence of smoking among adolescents, who represent a particularly vulnerable population to smoking (Orlandi and Dalton, 1998). The Transtheoretical Model has proved successful in changing problem health behaviours (prochaska and DiClemente, 1983) and lends itself to be a suitable framework for investigating smoking acquisition in adolescents (Werch and DiClemente, 1994). An extensive review of the causes and correlates of smoking uptake and past intervention evaluations suggests that the core constructs of the TTM (Decisional Balance, Temptation and Stage of Acquisition) can be complemented by other another variable, Perceived Social Norms (informed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, as cited in Pitts, 1996), to provide a more holistic explanation of smoking acquisition. Alcohol use, parental smoking and certain demographic factors are also found to be salient factors in this process. Findings showed that the perceived cons of smoking were constant across stages and seemed to have no effect on stage membership. Stage differences were explained almost entirely in terms of pros, which increased drastically with later stages. Perceived social norms increased with a later stage, confirming a tentative theoretical relationship between the Transtheoretical Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour. Lack of expressed intention to smoke by participants questions the validity of using the rational decision-making Transtheoretical Model to investigate a process not informed by decision-making. European language speakers were found to be a particularly vulnerable group to smoking, while African language speaking girls show very low rates of smoking. High religiosity was found to be a protective factor, while alcohol use was strongly associated with smoking. Maternal smoking was strongly associated with smoking, but only in girls. No difference in stage was found between schools and grades. The study should be replicated using a longitudinal design to determine the causal relationship between factors and smoking and to further investigate the applicability of the Transtheoretical Model in smoking acquisition. / Thesis (M.A.)- University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004