title: School context variables and students' smoking. Testing a mediation model through multilevel analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study applied a multilevel approach to examine the associations between school smoking policy and student smoking. It was tested whether individual characteristics are mediators of school policy effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  On the basis of cross-sectional data from 3,364 students and school principals from 40 schools in Germany, two multilevel nonlinear regression models were computed for current smoking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first model, controlling for individual factors not influenced by school, smoking bans for students and evidence-based prevention activities were negatively associated with smoking prevalence. The second model included student characteristics potentially influenced by school (e.g. school engagement, peer smoking). As school variables remained significant, these characteristics obviously do not mediate school context effects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  School context variables influence students' smoking independent of individual factors. The data suggest that individual variables rather mediate family influences.
authors.affiliation: IFT Institut fur Therapieforschung, Munchen, Germany. piontek@ift.de
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piontek
authors.forename: Anneke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buehler
authors.forename: Carolin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Donath
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Floeter
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rudolph
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Metz
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gradl
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kroeger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012574:Schools / Q000592:standards; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*