The effect of education on the theory of planned behavior in smoking prevention in high school students in Tehran city

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of educational program based on the theory of planned behavior in preventing smoking in students. Methods: This research was a kind of method and in terms of collecting data in a semi experimental field. The research population was high school students in the district of Tehran, and a sample of 84 subjects was selected for each intervention and control group. The instrument of this study was a questionnaire of the proposed theory of cigarette smoking prevention from a sample of questionnaires used in the studies of Brothey et al., Abedini and colleagues, including 33 items that confirmed their reliability and reliability. The intervention included improving the attitude and abstract norms of smoking prevention behaviors in 4 training sessions of 60 minutes and 1 month (one session per week). Finally, to determine the normality of the skidding-elongation test, using independent t-test, chi-square and variance analysis to determine the hypotheses of the research, using normal t-test. Results: The findings of the study showed that planned behavior had a significant effect on knowledge, negative attitude, mental norms, perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention and behavior (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the findings, it is suggested that by using education based on the theory of planned behavior that emphasizes on the important psychological factors of behavior or change, one can be aware of smoking, abstract norms and perceived behavioral control and improved overall smoking prevention behavior.