A Smoking Prevention Program (ASPIRE) and Mentoring for Preventing Smoking Among High School Youths

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate the feasibility of training selected eleventh grade high school student volunteers to provide an intervention involving mentoring combined with social support activities.

II. To increase ninth grade high school student well-being, which would ultimately influence tobacco related knowledge and resistance skills regarding tobacco uptake among ninth grade high school program participants.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. Mentor ability, confidence, and intention (ACI) to address tobacco use and dependence and providing anti-tobacco advice to mentees.

II. To determine the scores on mentoring competencies. III. To determine the influences of social support and self-esteem by mentors. IV. To determine the quality and satisfaction with the relationships among mentors and mentees.

V. To determine level of knowledge about nicotine and tobacco products among mentees.

VI. To determine susceptibility to tobacco use among non-smokers. VII. To determine progression through stages of change among smokers.

OUTLINE:

Participants complete online ASPIRE course over 3.5-4 hours.

HIGH SCHOOL MENTORS: Eleventh grade high school students receive mentor training over 4-5 hours on how to mentor ninth grade students.

ALL STUDENTS: Mentors and mentees are paired up so that eleventh grade high school students mentor the ninth grade high school students over 30 minutes for 7 sessions about the different types of tobacco products (such as cigarettes, cigars, hookah, and so on) and the dangers of these products.