title: Media exposure, interactive health literacy, and adolescents' susceptibility to future smoking.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few studies have investigated interactive health literacy (IHL)'s relationship with adolescents' smoking-related behavior. This study investigated IHL's association with adolescents' susceptibility to future smoking.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study of Japanese students enrolled in public junior high school, grades 7-9 (n=1937), who completed a self-report questionnaire. Variables were grade, gender, media exposure [television (TV), internet, and magazines], IHL (interest in learning about health, understanding what they hear about health, trying to follow what is taught about health), and susceptibility to future smoking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant findings were: [1] media exposure was positively associated with adolescents' susceptibility to future smoking (TV: p<0.01, internet: p<0.01, magazines: p<0.01); [2] IHL was negatively associated with adolescents' susceptibility to future smoking (interest in learning about health: p<0.001; understanding what they hear about health: p<0.05; trying to follow what is taught about health: p<0.001). IHL's influence on susceptibility to future smoking was found to be marginally stronger than that of media exposure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  School health-education programs that promote adolescents' IHL may effectively reduce adolescents' susceptibility to future smoking.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sudo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki.
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuroda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: health literacy; mass media; smoking