Effect of Smoking Prevention Program among Students who Attended a Secondary School in Mueang district, Buri Ram Province

Abstract

This two groups, pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a smoking prevention program developed based on Bloom’s learning theory on knowledge, attitudes, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, and intention not to smoke among lower secondary school students aged 13–15 years. The experimental group participated in a six-session program, conducted once a week for one hour per session, while the control group received usual school-based care. Each group was comprised of thirty students. Data was collected using questionnaires with IOC 0.67-1.00. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients reliability of the scales measuring attitudes toward smoking, outcome expectancies of not smoking, self-efficacy in smoking prevention, and intention not to smoke were 0.88, 0.86, 0.89, and 0.87, respectively. Descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and independent two-sample t-test were performed for the analysis. The results indicated that, after the intervention, the experimental group showed significantly more improvements from baseline in attitudes toward smoking and intention not to smoke as compared to the control group (p = 0.041 and 0.048, respectively). However, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in knowledge, outcome expectancies, and self-efficacy (p = 0.318, 0.310, and 0.748, respectively). In conclusion, the program was effective in improving attitudes and intention not to smoke among the target students. Further program development is recommended to enhance self-efficacy and outcome expectancies to achieve more sustainable behavioral outcomes.