Development and promotion of peer education programs facilitate smoking cessation in adolescents while simultaneously investing in their human capital.

Essay Overview:

This essay, while positioning the health-education interdependency at the locus of its analysis, illustrates how peer education programs (PEPs) geared as preventive measures against adolescent smoking tendencies, boost these young adults’ likelihood of enrolling into post-secondary education; in other words, PEPs contribute to the adolescents’ health capital by encouraging a healthy life-style and invest in their human capital through their promotion of continuing education into the post-secondary level. In this paper, I will first lay the underlying theoretical framework (health-education co-dependency). Second, I will present the existing literature on academic standings of smoking adolescents to dissect the root causes of this phenomenon (e.g. ‘bad company’) in search of possible solutions. Thirdly, I will discuss the role and efficacy of PEPs on the human and health capital of young adults and its ties to pursuit of post-secondary education. Lastly, in my final paragraph, I will draw my conclusion on the significance of PEPs’ development and promotion in adolescents’ present and future health (i.e. smoking cession), and the subsequent benefits for their future (human-capital investment).

Annotated Sources:

Source # 1:

Adachi-Mejia, A. M., Gibson Chambers, J. J., Li, Z., & Sargent, J. D. (2014). The relative roles of types of extracurricular activity on smoking and drinking initiation among tweens. Academic pediatrics, 14(3), 271-8.

This article claims that youth involvement, especially in extracurricular activities, has the possibility to prevent drinking and smoking. Using telephone surveys in 2003, 6522 students in the US were asked if they ever smoked or drank and how often they were involved in extracurricular activities. The study found out that youth contribution in a sport team with an instructor was associated with lower risks of youth’s involvement in smoking. There was a lesser risk of experimenting with drinking for students who participated in clubs. This research concludes involvement in extracurricular activities is linked with peril of youth drinking and smoking initiation.

Sources # 2:

Bilgiç, N., & Günay, T. (2018). Evaluation of effectiveness of peer education on smoking behavior among high school students. Saudi medical journal, 39(1), 74-80.

This study reveals that peer instruction decreased the number of students in different stages of smoking; the pre-contemplation stage, reduces or eliminates those in the action stage, and increases the maintaining stage. Peer education is an effective behavioural method in changing teen smoking habits and should be the preferred instrument in changing teens’ tobacco use. Smoking stages categorizes smokers. The stage where you begin smoking, moving on to stage that becomes a habit, and further in quitting.

Sources # 3:

Bryant, A.L., Schulenberg, J.E., O’Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., & Johnston, L.D. (2003). How academic achievement, attitudes , and behaviors relate to the course of substance use during adolescence: a 6-year, multiwave national longitudinal study. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(3), 361-397. doi: 10.1111/1532-7795.1303005

This research reports that substance use at adolescent years, with increased use of cigarettes and alcohol over time was associated with student misbehaviour in school. The study concludes that school-related factors, apart from poor academic achievement, also contribute to the simultaneous use of a substance that results will appear in the long-run. This article is relevant to my study as it recommends peer education activities in models currently used in schools which would drop the smoking and drinking rate in students participating in activities. Apart from promoting peer education, this article finds that there are other school-relate factors that contribute to substance use. For instance, peer pressure, socio-socio-demographic, early life, are keys in deciding the kids future.

Sources # 4:

Cook P. J., Hutchinson R. (2006). Smoke Signals: Adolescent Smoking and School Continuation (Working Paper No 12472) Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

In late 1990s, smoking was a powerful predictor in the US as to whether students would complete high-school or enrol in college. This article, however, finds that drinking is not a predictor of school continuation and speculates that tobacco demand impacts smoking signals and concludes that there is perhaps no direct relationship between smoking and school dropout. This article provides a counter-argument to my position, which I will refute throughout my essay in order to strengthen my thesis.

Sources # 5:

Gan, L., Gong, G. (2007). Estimating interdependence between health and education in a dynamic model. (NBER working paper no. 12830). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w12830

The research argues that there is a strong interdependence between education and health by highlighting individuals’ previous health records, education, and health expenditure and their co-relation with health status. The article concludes that subsidies in health expenditure would be more efficient and would largely impact educational attainment compared to tuition subsidies. This article provides the central theoretical framework of my essay, which is the absolute interdependence of health and education.

Sources # 6:
Kobus, K. (2003). Peers and adolescent smoking. Addiction, 98(Suppl. 1), 37-55. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1046/j.1360-0443.98.s1.4.x

This article argues that adolescent peer relationship is one of the main factors in youth’s cigarette smoking. This article suggests that peer influence and selection, which highly define adolescent friendships, play a significant role in youth’s tobacco use that could either promote or deter the use of tobacco among youths. The study finds out that peers’ effects on smoking are understated and should be carefully examined in larger contexts such as media, family, and neighbourhoods. This article suggests some causes of adolescent smoking, in which is tied to your circle of influence.

Sources # 7:

Paavola, M., Vartiainen, E., & Haukkala, A. (2004). Smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity: a 13-year longitudinal study ranging from adolescence into adulthood. The Journal of adolescent health, 35(3), 238-44.

This study in aims to assess the relationship among smoking, physical action, and alcohol use. It found out that pleasure from smoking and drinking had a co-relation with physical activity and , implying its core role among health behaviours. In addition, the study reveals that smoking and alcohol use habits that begin in adolescence are highly increase the likelihood of being carried over to adulthood while also reducing the probability of quitting. The research suggests that this result is much more associated with smoking. This article is used throughout my essay, to establish this connection between smoking, drinking, resulting in lesser hours active.

Sources # 8:

Sabado, M. D., Haynie, D., Gilman, S. E., Simons-Morton, B., & Choi, K. (2017). High school cigarette smoking and post-secondary education enrollment: Longitudinal findings from the NEXT Generation Health Study. Preventive medicine, 105, 250-256.

This article highlights that college enrolment potential and poor educational attainment are linked to high-school smoking. Early smoking habits, particularly during high-school, yield long term harm in health, and alters students’ attempt for higher education. The focus of this article is to emphasize on smoking that can harm, social-capital, and human- capital, which certainly is an important aspect in further success in adulthood. Those sets of skills, can be used to help individuals to coordinate themselves in accordance to the society to put forth themselves for higher level job.