Smoking Prevention Through Social Connections Among Adolescents - ASPIRE

Objective 1:

If you agree to take part in this study, you will complete "screening tests" to help
researchers decide if you are eligible to take part in this study. During Screening,
information about your smoking habits, age, and how you feel about your friends and the after
school program you are in will be collected.

If you are found to be eligible to take part in this study, you will complete up to 2 parts
of this study during your after school program:

Part 1:

For Part 1, you will complete a survey about your mental and physical health and your
opinions about health information and the internet. The survey should take about 15-20
minutes to complete.

Part 2:

If the results of your survey show that you are still eligible, you will complete Part 2 of
this study. You will be assigned to take part in either an interview or in a group discussion
called a focus group. Up to 40 participants will complete one-on-one interviews with a study
staff member. Up to 26 participants (4 groups of 5-6 participants each) will take part in
focus group discussions led by a study staff member.

No matter which group you are assigned to, you will be asked to share your thoughts about
what kinds of group activities you think are effective. You will also be asked to help design
group activities.

The interview or focus group should take about 40 minutes to complete.

Length of Study:

Your participation in this study will be over after you have completed either the survey or
the focus group or interview discussion, depending on your eligibility.

Other Information:

If you take part in Part 2, your responses in the interview or focus group will be audio
recorded. The audio recordings will be stored on a password-protected encrypted hard drive
that will be stored in a locked office at MD Anderson. Only the study researcher and
authorized members of the research staff will be allowed to use the audio recordings (for
research purposes). You will be advised not to share your name or any other protected health
information during audio recording. However, if any protected health information such as your
name is in the recording, it will be erased from the recording.

After the end of the study, your data and audio recordings will be handled according to MD
Anderson policy.

Objective 2:

If you agree to take part in this study, If you agree to take part in this study, you will
complete "screening tests" to help researchers decide if you are eligible to take part in
this study. During Screening, information about your smoking habits, age, and how you feel
about your friends and the after school program you are in will be collected.

If you are found to be eligible to take part in this study, you will complete up to 3 parts
of this study during your after school program:

Part 1:

For Part 1, you will complete a survey about your mental and physical health and your
opinions about health information and the internet. The survey should take about 15-20
minutes to complete.

If the results of your survey show that you are still eligible, you will continue to Parts 2,
3, and 4 of the study.

Part 2:

For Part 2, you will complete a survey about your friends at the program. You will be asked
who your best friends are and who your peer leaders are at the program. The survey should
take about 15-20 minutes to complete.

Part 3:

For Part 3, you will be randomly assigned (as in the flip of a coin) to 1 of 2 study groups.
This is done because no one knows if one study group is better, the same, or worse than the
other group. You will have a 1 in 2 chance of being in either Group A or Group B.

Researchers will form study groups by pairing together participants who are not likely to
smoke with those who are more likely to smoke. This will be determined based on the results
of the questionnaires that you complete throughout the study.

Both Group A and Group B will use a website called A Smoking Prevention Interactive
Experience (ASPIRE). The ASPIRE website has been designed for middle and high school students
and has videos, activities, and health information facts about the effects of smoking, the
benefits of meditation, and healthy living. You will complete sessions using the ASPIRE
website once a week for 3 to 4 weeks throughout your first semester. Each session should last
about 1 hour.

During Week 2 of the study, the last week you are on the study, and one month after the study
has ended, you will complete the 2 surveys you completed during Part 1 and Part 2 after your
ASPIRE session.

If you are in Group B only, in addition to using the ASPIRE website, you will also complete
health-related activities on paper about the effects of smoking.

After the end of the study, your data and audio recordings will be handled according to MD
Anderson policy.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. All participants must be of ages 11 through 18 (11 and 18 included; age group for
adolescents adopted by several National Institutes of Health)

2. All participants must be nonsmokers at the time of the study (i.e., Have not used any
tobacco product); Have not smoked an entire cigarette, cigar, or hookah session
before.

3. All participants must score 3 out of 5 or above on the place attachment scale (i.e.,
measuring adolescents' feeling of attachment to their after-school program).

4. All participants will be English speaking.

Exclusion Criteria:

1) None