Background
: According to recent studies of smoking rates among adolescents, the age at which young people begin to smoke is decreasing. The present study reports the results of a survey, conducted by the Korean National Tuberculosis Association (KNTA) in 2002, of the smoking status of Korean middle school students.

Methods : From April to November 2002, the KNTA surveyed the present smoking status of middle school students (total 14,296: boys-8,697, girls-5,599) according to sex and grade in 125 schools in 12 provinces during a smoking cessation education program.

Results : The survey showed that 18.4% of the males (7th grade-15.8%, 8th grade-17.6%, 9th grade-21.8%) and 8.3% of the females (7th grade-6.2%, 8th grade-9.3%, 9th grade-9.5%) had smoking experience. Approximately 2.5% of the males (7th grade-1.2%, 8th grade-1.8%, 9th grade-4.6%) and 1.0% of the females (7th grade- 0.3%, 8th grade-1.2%, 9th grade-1.5%) smoked regularly. The boys' smoking rate was higher than that of the girls in all grades. Smoking rates varied among the provinces, with Chungbuk having the highest rate (2.8%) and Jeonbuk having the lowest (0.9%). The time when most smokers began to smoke was in 6th grade of elementary school for the boys (15.9%) and 7th grade of middle school for the girls (28.6%). Approximately 69.4% of smokers answered that "curiosity" was the most important motivational factor. Statistical analysis indicated that smoking rates were positively correlated with alcohol use and height of students, but were negatively correlated with parents' level of education. At the end of the smoking cessation education program, the number of smokers had reduced for the boys (from 2.6% to 2.2%), but had increased for the girls (from 1.8% to 2.0%). The pre- program survey on the trans-theoretical stage of smoking cessation revealed that 34.2% fell into a pre- contemplation stage, 34.2% into a contemplation stage, and 31.6% into a preparation stage. The post-education survey showed remarkable changes: 24.0% were in the pre-contemplations stage, 40.0% in the contemplation stage, and 36.0% were in the preparation stage.

Conclusion : This study reports the results of a survey, conducted by the KNTA in 2002, concerning the national smoking status of middle school students, relating factors, and levels of motivation for quitting smoking. The smoking cessation education program run by the KNTA had an impact on the motivational stage of smoking cessation.

Background
: FACES III is a useful instrument for the evaluation of family function. It was translated with evaluation of it's validity and reliability and used in many researches in Korea. But following studies for validity and realiability of FACES III didn't show consistent results. And for the evaluation of family function of middle school students, FACES III can be a useful tool. But it is important to reinvestigate the validity and reliability of FACES III to apply this instrument to them.

Methods : In 1997, self-report instrument FACES III questionnaires were distributed to all members of one boys' middle school students in Inchon. The 1150 questionnaires except incomplete questionnaires form 1249 students were analyzed.

Results : The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for internal consistency reliability were 0.71 for adaptability and 0.80 for cohesion. The Pearson's correlation coefficient between cohesion and adaptability for construct validity was 0.59. Correlations between total scores and each item scores were moderate to strong, cor-relations between items in subcategory were weak. In factor analysis, there were many items that were not compatible with factors according to concept of FACES III.

Conclusion : The validity and reliability of FACES III can not be guaranteed when applied to the evaluaton of middle school students' family function.