title: Ways to say no: refusal skill strategies among urban adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine associations among adolescents' generated verbal strategies (ie, Simple No, Declarative Statements, Excuse, Alternatives) and underlying nonverbal assertiveness in 2 refusal situations: smoking and shoplifting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixth-grade urban minority students (N = 454) participated in videotaped role-play assessments of peer refusal skills.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Differences were found by situation with students demonstrating greater use of Simple No in the smoking refusal and Alternatives in the shoplifting refusal. Nonverbal assertiveness was similar across situations and was associated with Declarative Statements, but only in the smoking refusal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevention programs should tailor refusal skills practice to cover multiple situations.
authors.affiliation: Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 411 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021, USA. trdiaz@med.cornell.edu
authors.forename: Tracy R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.forename: Julia A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Graber
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brooks-Gunn
authors.forename: Gilbert J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Botvin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001242:Assertiveness; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012381:Role Playing; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012925:Social Conformity; D013800:Theft / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population