Grant Number:	1R03CA096467-01 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Griffin, Kenneth
Organization:	Weill Medical College Of Cornell Univ
Project Title:	Competence Skills and Smoking Among Subgroups of Youth
Fiscal Year:	2002

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Contemporary school-based smoking prevention programs that combine refusal skills training with techniques to enhance general personal and social competence can be highly effective in reducing adolescent smoking. While etiology research has shown that social resistance skills are important in keeping young people away from smoking, little work has focused on how social competence (e.g., assertiveness, communication skills) and personal competence (e.g., cognitive and behavioral self-management skills) are protective in terms of youth smoking. The etiological mechanisms remain particularly unclear among youth in high-risk settings. Furthermore, national survey data show that prevalence rates for adolescent smoking differ according to ethnicity, gender, and geographic location. Thus it is important to determine if competence-based etiological models can account for the initiation and escalation of adolescent smoking among different subgroups of adolescents. A primary goal of the proposed research is to develop, test, and refine several etiologic models that focus on the role of social and personal competence skills in adolescent cigarette smoking, and to examine these models among two longitudinal samples of middle school students: a largely white, suburban sample and a predominantly minority, inner-city sample. This goal will be accomplished through secondary analysis of untreated control students who participated in one of two school-based drug abuse prevention trials. The proposed research aims to elucidate how competence skills influence the initiation and escalation of cigarette smoking during the critical middle-school years. For example, mediational analyses will examine the roles of affective self-regulation and perceived social benefits of smoking as factors that explain how poor competence leads to youth smoking; and moderational analyses will examine whether good competence skills buffer the effects of other salient risk factors for tobacco use. The hypothesized models will be cross-validated among subgroups of the two longitudinal samples including by ethnicity and gender. Because different etiologic factors may contribute to varying levels of cigarette smoking, prediction of experimental versus heavy smoking will be investigated among subgroups of students. Several multivariate statistical techniques will be used including multiple linear and logistic regression, structural equation modeling, and latent growth modeling. The long-term goals are to improve our knowledge regarding the development of tobacco use among youth of different backgrounds, and to ultimately refine and improve smoking prevention programs for diverse youth populations.




Preventing Youth Violence And Delinquency Through A Universal School-based Prevention Approach
Authors: Botvin,G.J. , Griffin,K.W. , Nichols,T.D. .
Source: Prevention Science : The Official Journal Of The Society For Prevention Research, 2006 Dec; 7(4), p. 403-8.
PMID: 17136462
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Racial/ethnic differences in the protective effects of self-management skills on adolescent substance use.
Authors: Griffin K.W. , Botvin G.J. , Scheier L.M. .
Source: Substance Abuse : Official Publication Of The Association For Medical Education And Research In Substance Abuse, 2006 Jun; 27(1-2), p. 47-52.
PMID: 17062544
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Social Competence Among Urban Minority Youth Entering Middle School: Relationships With Alcohol Use And Antisocial Behaviors
Authors: Griffin,K.W. , Nichols,T.R. , Birnbaum,A.S. , Botvin,G.J. .
Source: International Journal Of Adolescent Medicine And Health, 2006 Jan-Mar; 18(1), p. 97-106.
PMID: 16639863
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Efficacy Of A Drug Prevention Cd-rom Intervention For Adolescents
Authors: Williams,C. , Griffin,K.W. , Macaulay,A.P. , West,T.L. , Gronewold,E. .
Source: Substance Use & Misuse, 2005; 40(6), p. 869-78.
PMID: 15974146
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Long-term Follow-up Effects Of A School-based Drug Abuse Prevention Program On Adolescent Risky Driving
Authors: Griffin,K.W. , Botvin,G.J. , Nichols,T.R. .
Source: Prevention Science : The Official Journal Of The Society For Prevention Research, 2004 Sep; 5(3), p. 207-12.
PMID: 15470940
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Common Predictors Of Cigarette Smoking, Alcohol Use, Aggression, And Delinquency Among Inner-city Minority Youth
Authors: Griffin,K.W. , Botvin,G.J. , Scheier,L.M. , Doyle,M.M. , Williams,C. .
Source: Addictive Behaviors, 2003 Aug; 28(6), p. 1141-8.
PMID: 12834656
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Effectiveness Of A Universal Drug Abuse Prevention Approach For Youth At High Risk For Substance Use Initiation
Authors: Griffin,K.W. , Botvin,G.J. , Nichols,T.R. , Doyle,M.M. .
Source: Preventive Medicine, 2003 Jan; 36(1), p. 1-7.
PMID: 12473419
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Life Skills Training As A Primary Prevention Approach For Adolescent Drug Abuse And Other Problem Behaviors
Authors: Botvin G.J. , Griffin K.W. .
Source: International Journal Of Emergency Mental Health, 2002 Winter; 4(1), p. 41-7.
PMID: 12014292
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Positive Impact Of Competence Skills And Psychological Wellness In Protecting Inner-city Adolescents From Alcohol Use
Authors: Epstein J.A. , Griffin K.W. , Botvin G.J. .
Source: Prevention Science : The Official Journal Of The Society For Prevention Research, 2002 Jun; 3(2), p. 95-104.
PMID: 12088140
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Personal Competence Skills, Distress, And Well-being As Determinants Of Substance Use In A Predominantly Minority Urban Adolescent Sample
Authors: Griffin K.W. , Botvin G.J. , Scheier L.M. , Epstein J.A. , Doyle M.M. .
Source: Prevention Science : The Official Journal Of The Society For Prevention Research, 2002 Mar; 3(1), p. 23-33.
PMID: 12002556
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Estimates Of Intragroup Dependence For Drug Use And Skill Measures In School-based Drug Abuse Prevention Trials: An Empirical Study Of Three Independent Samples
Authors: Scheier L.M. , Griffin K.W. , Doyle M.M. , Botvin G.J. .
Source: Health Education & Behavior : The Official Publication Of The Society For Public Health Education, 2002 Feb; 29(1), p. 85-103.
PMID: 11822555
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Factors Associated With Regular Marijuana Use Among High School Students: A Long-term Follow-up Study
Authors: Griffin K.W. , Botvin G.J. , Scheier L.M. , Nichols T.R. .
Source: Substance Use & Misuse, 2002 Jan; 37(2), p. 225-38.
PMID: 11863277
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Protective Role Of Personal Competence Skills In Adolescent Substance Use: Psychological Well-being As A Mediating Factor
Authors: Griffin K.W. , Scheier L.M. , Botvin G.J. , Diaz T. .
Source: Psychology Of Addictive Behaviors : Journal Of The Society Of Psychologists In Addictive Behaviors, 2001 Sep; 15(3), p. 194-203.
PMID: 11563796
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Risk Taking And Refusal Assertiveness In A Longitudinal Model Of Alcohol Use Among Inner-city Adolescents
Authors: Epstein J.A. , Griffin K.W. , Botvin G.J. .
Source: Prevention Science : The Official Journal Of The Society For Prevention Research, 2001 Sep; 2(3), p. 193-200.
PMID: 11678293
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Preventive Intervention Effects On Developmental Progression In Drug Use: Structural Equation Modeling Analyses Using Longitudinal Data
Authors: Scheier L.M. , Botvin G.J. , Griffin K.W. .
Source: Prevention Science : The Official Journal Of The Society For Prevention Research, 2001 Jun; 2(2), p. 91-112.
PMID: 11523755
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