Factors Related with Smoking of Late Elementary Students in Opportunity Expansion Schools at Kham Muang District, Kalasin Province

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional descriptive study was to study smoking behavior and its risk related factors among 229 late elementary students in opportunity expansion schools at Kham Muang District, Kalasin Province. Sample was collected by stratified random sampling method and data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires consisted of general information, environment, perceived danger of cigarette, attitude toward smoking, smoking refusal self-efficacy, and smoking behavior. Multiple Logistic Regression was used for data analysis. The result found that 25.33% of the sample used to smoke, and 3.90% of them were current smokers and average age at first smoking was 9+1.44 years old. The first cigarettes of them were from friends 46.55%, seniors in school 22.41%, and discarded cigarettes 10.34%. Of the current smokers, 32.76% smoke at home and 27.59% smoke at friend’s meeting place. Knowledge about perceived danger of cigarette, attitude toward smoking and smoking refusal self-efficacy were 54.15%, 64.63%, 70.30% respectively showing that all were at good level. Risk Factors related to smoking were male (OR_adj=17.50, 95%CI: 3.86-79.41, p-value<0.001), did not living with parents (OR_adj=1.48, 95%CI: 0.64-3.44, p-value<0.006), always behaved what was forbidden. (OR_adj=6.72, 95%CI:0.80-56.26, p-value<0.001), influenced by their family and intimate people smoking. (OR_adj=3.07, 95%CI:0.52-18.10, p-value<0.001), seen smoker in various media (OR_adj=1.30, 95%CI: 0.16-10.81, p-value <0.001), and smoking refusal self-efficacy at low or medium level (OR_adj=1.96, 95%CI: 0.78-4.93, p-value = 0.010). The findings suggest that family, schools and community play an important role to forbidding smoking and cooperating to enhance smoking refusal self-efficacy into good level in order to prevent the students who will become to youth from smoking.