Stuart W. Fors

Associations between Perceived Parent Behaviors and Middle School Student Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

OBJECTIVE To examine whether (1) student perceptions of parent behaviors explain variations in fruit and vegetable consumption, (2) self-efficacy mediates this relationship, and (3) perceived home fruit and vegetable availability moderates this relationship. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey. SETTING Classrooms in 3 middle schools in 2 northeast Georgia counties. PARTICIPANTS 366 middle school students. The response and participation rates were 59% and 56%, respectively. VARIABLES MEASURED Perceived authoritative parenting, perceived parent control, perceived parent modeling, perceived parent support, self-efficacy, perceived fruit and vegetable availability, and fruit and vegetable consumption. ANALYSIS Hierarchical multiple regression; P <.05. RESULTS Perceived parent modeling, perceived parent support, self-efficacy, and perceived fruit and vegetable availability were significant predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption. The relationship between perceived parent support and fruit and vegetable consumption was mediated by self-efficacy. The relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and both perceived parent modeling and support was moderated by perceived fruit and vegetable availability. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Parents appear to moderately influence middle school student fruit and vegetable consumption. Educators might focus on improving home fruit and vegetable availability and student self-efficacy, as well as parent support and modeling. The level of availability might indicate where efforts should focus for enhancing parent behaviors.

Evaluation of a Peer-Led Drug Abuse Risk Reduction Project for Runaway/Homeless Youths

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Drug Prevention in Youth risk reduction program that was implemented in shelters for runaway/homeless youths in the Southeastern United States. The program focuses on knowledge, attitudes and skills that can help this group of high risk young people minimize the serious negative consequences of drug abuse. An evaluation strategy was developed so comparisons could be made between peer-led, adult-led and non-intervention groups. Dependent samples t tests and least squares ANCOVAS were used to measure pretest-posttest differences both within and between groups. Results indicate that the peer-led groups were more successful than the other two groups, and that program effects were the most powerful with the youngest group of shelter clients. Process evaluation revealed important factors related to group leader training and group management. It is concluded that well-trained and motivated peer/near peer leaders have particularly valuable contributions to make with regard to drug abuse risk reduction for shelter clients.

The Prevention of HIV among Adolescents: A Leisure Education Intervention

Abstract This article examines using leisure education as an innovative method to HIV prevention among adolescents. Included is a description of leisure education and how leisure education is similar to health education. The method revolves around the teaching of alternate activities for adolescents to engage in during non-school hours. Currently, alternate behaviors are included during some prevention programs, but only very briefly. Instead, this method addresses all the reasons that go into a successful substitution, such as choice, self-esteem, decision making, and other life skills learned in adolescence. These skills will assist the adolescent to substitute new leisure activities which can lead to less free and unsupervised time. This free and unsupervised time is when adolescents are most likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, many of which can lead to HIV infection. Additionally, the increase in self-esteem that is often found during leisure activity participation can have a positive effect o...

On the Ethics of Selective Omission and/or Inclusion of Relevant Information in School Drug Education Programs.

Tradition, community pressures and personal biases can contribute to a drug education program that may be more indoctrination than education. There are some basic ethical issues that need to be clarified with regard to drug education curriculum development. Ethical justifications for and against the inclusion of all relevant information in drug education programs are discussed. The author concludes that personal autonomy and human dignity should be the preeminent values adhered to when drug education curricula are planned and presented.

The schoolchild as health educator: diffusion of hypertension information from sixth‐grade children to their parents

This study describes health risk‐factor information transfer from sixth‐grade classrooms to the home. A randomized control trial of 1,204 children in 21 elementary schools revealed clusters of families where transfer of hypertension information was high and low. Thirty‐three mothers of both groups participated in qualitative interviews to determine where, how, and why the information transfer did or did not take place. After constant comparison data analysis, the authors describe characteristics of “high transfer” and “low transfer” family profiles diat consist of parent and child typologies, varieties of family interaction, and the presence or absence of intrafamilial social support. The study illustrates how qualitative data can be used to explain information obtained quantitatively.