Intervention based on social cognitive theory: Evaluating adolescents' knowledge of OTC pain medications

Abstract Objective To evaluate the effect of a social cognitive theory (SCT)-based intervention on the constructs of situational perception, behavioral capabilities, outcome expectations, outcome expectancies, and self-efficacy concerning over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications among an adolescent population. Design Pre–posttest control group design. Setting Rural high school in the southeastern United States, between February and March 2011. Participants 203 high school students recruited from 10 classrooms. Intervention Classrooms were randomly assigned to an SCT-based education intervention group or the control group. Pre- and posttest data were collected from each group 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the intervention was delivered. Main outcome measures Change in the five selected constructs of SCT. Results Compared with the control group, significant improvements at posttest were observed in the intervention group for outcome expectations of OTC pain medications ( P ≤ 0.05) and behavioral capabilities ( P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion The results suggest that lessons based on SCT to improve the outcome expectations that an adolescent population places on the consumption of OTC pain medications may assist in developing the knowledge and skills needed to consume these products properly.