Need to Change the Optics in the Prevention of Addictive Behaviors. The Role of Local Communities in Prevention of Smoking

The study has a comprehensive background provided by the joint research of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Tg. Mures and Davidson College, USA, which contains previous results. Our data draws attention to the fact that attitudes toward psycho-active drugs need to be assessed in relation to the characteristics of the local community to which the person belongs. Similarly, prevention activities should consider the cultural features of the target group. We will use the PRECEDE model to design the community prevention model. We explored motivational elements, expressed by symbol, that determine the attitudes toward smoking through deeper psychological structures. We used a questionnaire and a projective method and the collected data were subjected to symbol analysis. As a result, we gathered answers about the orientation of the needs, desires, and motivations of the interviewees, as well as the internal models and motivations leading their behavior. Based on the obtained data, we performed an analysis using the PERCEDE model, which helped us identify the needs of teenagers from different social environments and of various ethnicities. This analysis was followed by a strategic plan for community intervention. Our ultimate goal was to promote health within the community, with the desire to prevent tobacco use. All activities provided by us are intended to raise the quality of life among adolescents. We can recommend that the differences in cultural features of the target group should be respected during prevention by mobilising community resources which are rooted in shared desires, fears, daily practices, rituals, and values. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.