Academic achievement and smoking: is self-efficacy an important factor in understanding social inequalities in Finnish adolescents?

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  • Author(s): Pennanen M;Pennanen M; Haukkala A; De Vries H; Vartiainen E
  • Source:
    Scandinavian journal of public health [Scand J Public Health] 2011 Nov; Vol. 39 (7), pp. 714-22. Date of Electronic Publication: 2011 Sep 05.
  • Publication Type:
    Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Sage Publications Country of Publication: Sweden NLM ID: 100883503 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1651-1905 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14034948 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Scand J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: <2008->: London, England : Sage Publications
      Original Publication: Stockholm ; Boston : Scandinavian University Press, c1999-
    • Subject Terms:
      Achievement* ; Adolescent Behavior* ; Socioeconomic Factors*; Smoking/*psychology; Adolescent ; Attitude ; Cognition ; Educational Status ; Female ; Finland ; Health Status Disparities ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Self Efficacy ; Smoking/adverse effects ; Smoking Prevention ; Surveys and Questionnaires
    • Abstract:
      Aims: Poor academic achievement is strongly related to smoking but studies that examine the mechanism between academic achievement and smoking are lacking. The aim of this study, therefore, was to examine the smoking-related cognitions (i.e. attitude, social influence, self-efficacy and intention to smoke) in relation to academic achievement and determine whether these cognitions explain different patterns of smoking.
      Methods: The study uses the data of a longitudinal study that was carried out in Finland, and the sample comprised 1,096 students in grades seven to nine.
      Results: During the seventh-grade students with poor academic achievement reported more positive attitudes to smoking and a greater social influence of their peers regarding smoking, weaker self-efficacy to refuse smoking and more intentions to smoke in the future compared to students with high academic achievement. Moreover, the follow-up analyses after a 24-month interval revealed that self-efficacy to refuse smoking of students with poor grades had become weaker compared to students with high grades. Furthermore, the influence of seventh-grade academic achievement predicting ninth-grade weekly smoking was partially mediated through the self-efficacy beliefs and the intention to smoke.
      Conclusions: Differences in academic achievement may have an impact on adolescents' self-efficacy beliefs and the intention to smoke in the future. To reduce health inequalities a strong input on continuing research to improve smoking prevention methods, especially for students with low academic achievement, is needed.
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20110907 Date Completed: 20120123 Latest Revision: 20171116
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      10.1177/1403494811420484
    • Accession Number:
      21893606