LAUSR

While there is consistent evidence that an early initiation of smoking and alcohol consumption is associated with a whole range of future negative outcomes, relatively little attention has been directed at a specific population of very young adolescents (10-12 years old). This study aimed to explore the relationships between alcohol use, smoking and intra/interpersonal factors among primary school pupils. In this study (APVV-0253-11, APVV-15-0662) a representative sample of 572 early adolescents from a stratified random sample of 12 primary Slovak schools (50.1% boys, Mean age=12.49; SD = 0.59) was used. The respondents indicated their lifetime prevalence of smoking SM and alcohol use AU (dichotomized: 0-not used, 1-used) which was used as an outcome variable. Expectations of the effect of smoking and alcohol use (positive or negative), self-control and cigarette and alcohol refusal were used as the independent variables. Binary logistic regressions were performed and carried out separately for boys and girls. All 4 models were statistically significant for males (AU = 15.318, p < 0.01, 9.8%, SM = 17.807, p < 0.01, 9.8%) and also for females (AU = 25.204, p < 0.001, 16%, SM = 47.05, p < 0.001, 24.7%). The models showed that for boys there were significant associations between smoking refusal and smoking cigarettes 95%CI=0.845-0.97 and alcohol refusal and alcohol prevalence 95%CI=0.78-0.95. For girls, significant associations were found between smoking refusal and smoking cigarettes 95%CI=0.75-0.92, alcohol refusal and alcohol prevalence 95%CI=0.72-0.95, positive expectations 95%CI=1.04-1.20, negative expectations 95%CI=0.78-0.94, self-control 95%CI=0.91-1.00 and alcohol prevalence. This study supports the importance of the specific role of refusal skills for both genders as well as the importance of the role of expectations and self-control with respect to gender differences. Implementation of the findings regarding the importance of specific refusal skills towards alcohol use and smoking among both genders might be important for effective targeting of prevention programs. The results show a similar trend regarding smoking which was observed among both genders but this was not seen in alcohol use.