This study aims to evaluate the impact of a social cognitive theory (SCT)-based intervention on dietary behaviors and behavioral determinants. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 230 adolescent girls (13-15 years old) in the intervention (n=115), and control group (n = 115), in Isfahan, Iran. Interventions were focused on changing SCT…

Background: Rates of PA are low among adolescents living in rural areas. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to measure 1 week of "free-living" PA via accelerometer among 9th- and 10th-grade students who reside in rural Appalachia. A second purpose was to identify gender differences in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) variables correlated…

The authors have examined the relative contribution of personal (emotional state, gender-role attitudes), contextual (perceived social supports and barriers), and cognitive (self-efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations) variables to technological interests in a sample (N = 2,364) of 10th-grade Spanish students. The results of path analysis…

This study evaluates the Youth Development Program (YDP), a component of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). We examine whether the YDP reduced dropout rates among youth in secondary schools in seven school districts in the impoverished Mississippi River Delta in southeast Arkansas. Initially, the program seems to have an impact. Students…

About 35% of healthy weight adolescent females describe themselves as overweight, and 66% report planning to lose weight. Body weight dissatisfaction is associated with unhealthy weight loss practices including diet pill/powder/liquid (PPL) use. Few studies have examined diet PPL use in healthy weight adolescent females; therefore, Youth Risk…

Peer education programs are a popular approach to preventing HIV infection among adolescents. While the programs show promise for effectively preventing HIV among the peers who are provided education, little evaluation research has been conducted to determine if the peer educators themselves experience knowledge, attitude, and behavior changes. A…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesized structural paths in Bandura's social-cognitive theory (SCT) model on adolescent girls' physical activity following a 12-month physical activity and dietary intervention to prevent obesity. Method: We conducted a 12-month follow-up study of 235 adolescent girls ("M[subscript…

Using social cognitive theory and structural regression modeling, we examined pathways between early adolescents' music media consumption, involvement with music media, and 3 domains of self-concept (physical appearance, romantic appeal, and global self-worth; N=124). A mediational model was supported for 2 domains of self-concept. Music media…

The content of violence within media has significantly increased over the years and has been approached using a diverse empirical research representation. Within these empirical attempts, the area of music violence has only been approached through the utilization of randomized experiments and thereby presses the need to explore the alternative…

Reciprocal determinism is a central premise of Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory. Studies of the relationship between self-beliefs and performance tend to draw on this or related theories and usually endorse the notion of reciprocal determinism at a substantive-theoretical level. However, attempts to model this postulated mutual influence…

Grounded conceptually in social cognitive theory, this research examines how personal, behavioral, and environmental factors are associated with risk perceptions of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Ordinal logistic regression and logit log-linear models applied to data gathered from high-school seniors (N = 2,160) in the 2005 Monitoring the Future…

Theory-driven, mass media interventions prevent smoking among youth. This study examined effects of a media campaign on adolescent smoking cessation. Four matched pairs of media markets in four states were randomized to receive or not receive a 3-year television/radio campaign aimed at adolescent smoking cessation based on social cognitive theory.…

Adolescents are physically inactive and non-Caucasian adolescents achieve the least amount of physical activity. Hence, supporting teachers' efforts to increase their students' physical activity during physical education is important. We examined the influence of a social cognitive theory-based intervention on teachers' efficacy to teach…

An assessment from a holistic perspective considers the overall well-being of the adolescent and seeks to understand the adolescent's development and resiliency in relation to social relationships and their context and risks, given the association between these factors and the goal to promote each area. It is recommended that measures in the…

Discussion of social cognitive theory and the role of television focuses on a study that investigated the influences of ethnic group membership and family communication environment variables on adolescents' knowledge, efficacy, and values related to politics. Highlights include the nature of family influences via the media and effects of media…