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MECHANISMS Study: Using game theory to assess the effects of social norms and social networks on adolescent smoking in schools

MECHANISMS Study: Using game theory to assess the effects of social norms and social networks on adolescent smoking in schools

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN14041907
Enrollment
1600
Registered
2023-01-09
Start date
2018-09-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2024-02-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Prevention of smoking update in adolescents Not Applicable

Interventions

Dead Cool Intervention Dead Cool is a smoking prevention intervention for pupils aged 12–13 years old designed by Cancer Focus Northern Ireland (a local cancer charity). The intervention is designed t

Sponsors

Queen's University Belfast
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: All pupils in the school year were invited to participate

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Parents/Guardians who did not wish their child to take part were asked to return completed Opt-Out Forms.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Smoking behavior measured using a hand-held carbon monoxide monitor (administered by a trained member of the research team) at baseline and at 12 weeks (immediately post-intervention)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
All assessed at baseline and at 12 weeks (1-week post-intervention): 1. The game theory experiments included several incentivized tasks. Part 1 included a rule-following task measuring individuals' social norms sensitivities. Parts 2-3 included incentivized coordination games to elicit injunctive and descriptive norms for smoking and vaping in whole school year groups. Part 4 assessed participants' willingness to pay to support anti-smoking norms 2. Self-report injunctive smoking norms were assessed with seven items enquiring about perceived approval of smoking from groups of important others 3. Self-report descriptive smoking norms were assessed with two scales. The first scale consisted of five items enquiring about how often groups of important others engaged in smoking behaviour. Pupils provided their answers on a five-point scale (“very often” to “never”/“don’t know”). The second scale consisted of three items enquiring about the proportion of groups of important others who are smokers 4. Self-report smoking outcomes included past/current smoking behaviour, smoking intentions and susceptibility 5. Hypothesised mediators measured using smoking knowledge, attitudes towards smoking, self-efficacy (emotional, friends, and opportunity subscales), perceived risks (physical, social, and addiction subscales), perceived benefits, perceived behavioural control (easy to quit smoking), and perceived behavioural control (to avoid smoking) 6. Social networks measured by asking pupils to name up to ten of their closest friends in their school year group 7. Pro-sociality measured using the Need to Belong Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and Pro-Social Behavior Scale 8. Adolescent personality traits (Openness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability) measured using the Big Five Trait Short Questionnaire (BFPTSQ) 9. Well-being measured using a self-perceived well-being scale

Countries

Colombia, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026