Predictors of participation in a school-based anti-tobacco activism program

This study investigated the predictors of participation in a school-based, anti-tobacco activism program. Subjects in this study consisted of 7th grade students participating in the intervention component of Project S.H.O.U.T., a tobacco use prevention program in San Diego County, California. In the activism component, a newsletter containing an activism contest was distributed to each student. Small prizes were awarded to contest winners at each school. "Activism" included letter and petition writing, anti-tobacco poster contests, merchant education, peer surveys and magazine subscription cards. A total of 170 students participated in the activities, with 81.1 percent participating two or more times. Of those who participated, 59 percent were female and 60 percent were White, non-Hispanic. Two sets of logistic analyses were conducted. Variables such as SES, gender, ethnicity, friends' tobacco use and parental tobacco use were used to predict participation in activism activities. The choice of variables was intended to provide information regarding activism participation in reference to known tobacco risk factors. Results of the first analysis indicated that students with a higher SES, and in an urban vs. rural location were more likely to participate in the activism activities. The second analysis used the same set of characteristics to predict "ever-use" of tobacco. Results of this analysis indicated that male gender, low grades, White, non-Hispanic ethnicity, friends' and parents' tobacco use were positively associated with tobacco experimentation.