Awareness of Substance Abuse and other Health-Related Behaviors among Preschool Children

Abstract

A group of forty-six preschool children, ages five and six, who were recipients of well-child examinations, were surveyed by a trained person without parents or teacher present. Subjects were shown eight pictorial representations of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, smoking, over-eating, tooth brushing, exercising, wearing a seat belt, and violence towards others. Each child was asked to identify each health-related behavior; explain its health implication; state whether they currently practiced or planned to engage in the behavior in the future; and identify their source of knowledge. All children could identify at least some of the behaviors and relate some health benefits or hazards of the behavior. Parents and television were the primary sources of knowledge. This study suggests that preschool children may be a suitable target population for substance abuse and other health-related education, since awareness of these behaviors was very high in the group of children studied here.