Smoking media literacy in Vietnamese adolescents

Smoking media literacy (SML) has been found to be independently associated with reduced current smoking and reduced susceptibility to future smoking in a sample of American adolescents, but not in other populations of adolescents. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess SML in Vietnamese adolescents and to determine the association with smoking behavior and susceptibility to future smoking.

A cross-sectional survey of 2000 high school students completed the SML scale, which is based on an integrated theoretical framework of media literacy, and items assessing cigarette use. Ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the association of SML with smoking and susceptibility to future smoking. Ordinal logistic regression was also to determine whether smoking in the past 30 days was associated with the 8 domains/core concepts of media literacy which comprise the SML.

Smoking media literacy was lower among the Vietnamese adolescents than what has been previously reported in American adolescents. Ordinal logistic regression analysis results showed that in the total sample SML was associated with reduced smoking, but there was no association with susceptibility to future smoking. Further analysis showed that results differed according to school and grade level. There did not appear to be association of smoking with the specific domains/concepts that comprise the SML.

The association of SML with reduced smoking suggests the need for further research involving SML, including the testing of media literacy training interventions, in Vietnamese adolescents and also other populations of adolescents.