Effects of a School-Based Interventional Program on Smoking Refusal Self-efficacy in Adolescent Females

Background: Education is considered as the most basic method for the prevention of tobacco smoking. Self-efficacy can be assumed as the best predictor of smoking behavior in adolescents. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a school-based interventional program on smoking refusal self-efficacy in adolescent females. Method: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 53 adolescent females in 2017. The participants were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (n=27) and control (n=26). The intervention group was provided with a smoking prevention program implemented five sessions a week in their school classrooms. On the other hand, the control group received the routine interventions. A researcher-made Smoking Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire was completed before and one month after the intervention. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 20.0) using Fisher’s exact test, t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: According to the results, 9 (34.6%) and 7 (25.9%) individuals in the control and intervention groups had smoking fathers, respectively. The two study groups were homogeneous in terms of smoking refusal self-efficacy before the intervention. Following the intervention, the mean self-efficacy scores in the intervention and control groups were estimated as 111.55±13.1 and 93.53±25.02, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding this variable after the intervention (P=0.02). Implications for Practice: The school-based interventional program for smoking prevention in accordance with social skills training could effectively increase the level of smoking refusal self-efficacy in adolescent females.