Preventing tobacco use among Iranian male adolescents: an application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

Objective (s): Effective methods for preventing tobacco use are crucial for adolescents. One behavioral change theory that has been successfully used for designing smoking prevention programs is the theory of planned behavior)TPB). The aim of this study was to examine the ability of the theory of planned behavior)TPB) in preventing tobacco use among adolscents. In this quasi-experimental study، a total of 280 male junior high school students aged between 14 to 19 years (140 cases and 140 controls) were selected randomly from 4 schools of Zarandieh، Iran. The cases participated in educational classes for one month. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the TPB on tobacco use. Two groups completed the questionnaire before and six months after intervention. Our findings indicated that mean scores of the TPB constructs (knowledge، attitude، subjective norms، perceived behavior control، intention) were significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the controls. Also، tobacco use decreased significantly among the experimental group after intervention (before intervention 25% vs. after intervention 10. 5% in the experimental group، P<0. 001). The results support the implementation of educational programs based on the TPB in preventing smoking behavior among adolescents.