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Biomedical subjects

W B Hansen

Publications and source records attributed to W B Hansen.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Perceived personal immunity: the development of beliefs about susceptibility to the consequences of smoking.

Students ages 10 to 18 were given the task of estimating the probability of four possible consequences of cigarette smoking: heart trouble, cancer, carbon monoxide in alveolar air, and breathlessness during strenuous exercise. Subjects made estimates for generalized others who smoke, for themselves as hypothetical lifelong smokers, and for their actual selves. Comparisons of generalized others with hypothetical self and of hypothetical self with actual self suggest that subjects engage in significant denial. Smokers denied their susceptibility more than nonsmokers for generalized others and for themselves as hypothetical lifelong smokers. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers admitted an increased likelihood of experiencing the consequences of smoking when they predicted for their actual self, suggesting some objective awareness of their increased risk status. Smokers saw themselves as highly susceptible to carbon monoxide and breathlessness. This lends support to the current focus on instruction about immediate consequences of smoking as being potentially efficacious in deterring smoking in youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Balancing program and research integrity in community drug abuse prevention: project STAR approach.

This paper focuses on the process of community-based drug prevention programming using an ongoing, multiple community project (Project STAR) as an illustration. Particular attention is paid to problems and strategies for balancing program and research integrity over the long-term. Specific strategies are discussed for obtaining and sustaining support for the program, quality control throughout program delivery, and accommodation of both research and program objectives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Attrition in prevention research.

Selective attrition can detract from the internal and external validity of longitudinal research. Four tests of selective attrition applicable to longitudinal prevention research were conducted on data bases from two recent studies. These tests assessed (1) differences between dropouts and stayers in terms of pretest indices of primary outcome variables (substance use), (2) differences in change scores for dropouts and stayers, (3) differences in rates of attrition among experimental conditions, and (4) differences in pretest indices for dropouts among conditions. Results of these analyses indicate that cigarette smokers, alcohol drinkers, and marijuana users are more likely to drop out than nonusers, limiting the external validity of both studies. For one project, differential rates of attrition among conditions suggested a possible attrition artifact which will interfere with interpretation of outcome results, possibly masking true program effectiveness. Recommendations for standardizing reports of attrition and for avoiding attrition through second efforts are made.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Self-initiated smoking cessation among high school students.

The purpose of this study was to examine psychosocial predictors of self-initiated smoking cessation among high school students. Students from nine high schools were pretested using a questionnaire which assessed smoking behavior, beliefs about positive and negative consequences of smoking, moral attitudes toward smoking, normative expectations about smoking, rebelliousness, peer smoking and parent smoking. Smokers identified at pretest were reexamined three months and fifteen months later. Three variables, moral attitudes, peer smoking and positive beliefs about smoking significantly discriminated continuing smokers from quitters at the three-month posttest. Three different variables, negative beliefs about smoking, parental smoking and rebelliousness significantly discriminated between those who quit and later relapsed and those who quit and maintained their non-smoking status at the 15 month posttest. Smoking characteristics at pretest failed to discriminate either those who would quit or those who would maintain their non-smoking status. Results support the development of public information programs which encourage early cessation of smoking which feature the development of appropriate attitudes and beliefs and which foster social support.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Behavioral predictors of abstinence: early indicators of a dependence on tobacco among adolescents.

High-school-aged smokers were surveyed about recent attempts to give up cigarette smoking and about the nature of their smoking behavior, including the duration of the habit, frequency of use, and regularity of use. For smokers who had attempted to quit (72%), a stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed. Frequency of use and regularity of use were found to predict significantly the length of time subjects had been able to remain abstinent from cigarettes. The implications of these findings for the categorization and treatment of young smokers are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Feedback versus information concerning carbon monoxide as an early intervention strategy in adolescent smoking.

The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of several programs using feedback about carbon monoxide (CO) as strategies for deterring experimentation with cigarettes in sixth-grade children. All experimental subjects viewed a film depicting elevated CO levels in smokers' breath. Subjects in three conditions then viewed a live demonstration of the detection process using smoking and non-smoking adult subjects, followed by personal monitoring with either immediate, delayed or withheld feedback. An additional group viewed only the film and the live demonstration, and one group viewed only the film. Compared to no-treatment controls, the only program to reduce experimentation with cigarettes was the information-only program. Contrary to what was predicted, several programs, including those using immediate and withheld feedback had increases in rates of experimentation. For young adolescent populations, the use of simple information about imminent consequences of smoking programs is advocated.

Carbon Monoxide↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Applying multilevel analytic strategies in adolescent substance use prevention research.

BACKGROUND: School-based drug prevention programs have been criticized on methodologic grounds because the unit of analysis is often not the unit of randomization, thus increasing the likelihood of Type I errors. Application of multilevel analytic strategies appropriately corrects this biasing tendency. This study demonstrates the practical use of such analysis. METHODS: Data from 2,370 seventh-grade students participating in a substance use prevention trial were analyzed using a multilevel strategy. We examined the effectiveness of a social pressure resistance training and a normative education (NORM) intervention against an information-only control group. RESULTS: The NORM condition revealed 1-year program effects for cigarette and marijuana use with individuals as the unit of analysis and only marginal effects with classroom as the unit of analysis. No program effects were found using school as the analysis unit. A multilevel strategy revealed program effects for cigarettes and marijuana with both class and school as grouping levels. The effect for alcohol use was significant at the 2-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions establishing conservative drug use norms in classrooms may be an effective strategy in reducing substance use onset among adolescents. Utilization of appropriate analytic strategies is important in the analysis and interpretation of data containing nested structures.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The future of health behavior and prevention research: what will change in the next 25 years?

OBJECTIVE: To review progress in the field of health behavior research and suggest future directions. METHODS: Reviewed the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of research during the past 25 years and identified likely technological changes that will impact research during the next 25 years. RESULTS: In the not-too-distant future, normal science will be transformed by broad-based diffusion of innovations, some of which will include the increased use of automated data collection methods and the widespread adoption of research-based programs. CONCLUSION: Research during the next 25 years will eventually result in a radical transformation of health behavior research.

Forecasting↗