Mikayo Ando

Psychosocial factors associated with smoking and drinking among Japanese early adolescent boys and girls: cross-sectional study.

BackgroundSmoking and drinking alcohol among early adolescents are serious public health concerns, but few studies have been conducted in Japan to assess their prevalence and etiology. A regional survey was conducted in eight schools in two Japanese school districts to identify psychosocial factors associated with smoking and drinking behaviors for boys and girls.MethodsJunior high school students from seventh to ninth grades (N = 2,923) completed a self-reported questionnaire between December 2002 and March 2003. Relationships between psychosocial variables (i.e., self-assertive efficacy to resist peer pressure, parental involvement, school adjustment, and deviant peer influence) and smoking and drinking were investigated using logistic regression analyses and path analyses.ResultsSmoking in the last six months was significantly more prevalent in boys (7.9%) than girls (5.1%). The prevalence of drinking in the last six months was similar in boys (23.7%) and girls (21.8%). Self-efficacy to resist peer pressure was negatively associated with both smoking and drinking among both boys and girls and provided both direct and indirect effects through deviant peer influence. Parental involvement showed indirect effects through school adjustment and/or deviant peer influence to both smoking among both boys and girls and drinking among girls, although parental involvement showed direct effects on smoking only for boys. School adjustment was negatively associated with smoking among both boys and girls and drinking among girls.ConclusionThese findings suggest that self-assertive efficacy to resist peer pressure, parental involvement, school adjustment and deviant peer influence are potentially important factors that could be addressed by programs to prevent smoking and/or drinking among early adolescent boys and girls in Japan.

An Intervention Program Focused on Self-Understanding and Interpersonal Interactions to Prevent Psychosocial Distress among Japanese University Students.

This study evaluated the impact of a preventive intervention program focused on self-understanding and interpersonal interactions to prevent psychosocial distress among Japanese university students. Two hundred and twenty-two undergraduate students were divided into a treatment group and a control group to complete Time 1 and Time 2 surveys. The intervention program included eleven weekly sessions covering self-understanding, self-control, interpersonal relationships, problem solving, conflict resolution, and stress management. Both female and male students in the treatment group reported a significant increase in social self-efficacy in interpersonal relationships from Time 1 to Time 2, but no significant changes were noted in the control group. Anxiety significantly decreased from Time 1 to Time 2, and no difference in depression was noted in the female treatment group, although anxiety and depression significantly increased in the female control group. The intervention program effectively prevented some aspects of psychosocial distress.