Identification of adolescents at risk for smoking initiation: Validation of a measure of susceptibility

Primary prevention of smoking in adolescents requires effective screening instruments for identifying those adolescents who are most likely to experiment with cigarettes. This study investigated the predictive value of a measure of susceptibility to smoking (the lack of a firm commitment not to smok...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Addictive behaviors 1997, Vol.22 (1), p.81-91
Main Authors: Unger, Jennifer B., Johnson, C.Anderson, Stoddard, Jacqueline L., Nezami, Elahe, Chih-Ping, Chou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Biological and medical sciences
Chi-Square Distribution
Cigarettes
Confidence Intervals
Disease Susceptibility
Female
Humans
Logistic Models
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mass Screening - methods
Mass Screening - standards
Medical sciences
Mental health
Odds Ratio
Predictive Value of Tests
Prevention. Health policy. Planification
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk Factors
Sampling Studies
Smoking
Smoking - psychology
Smoking Prevention
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Social research
Teenagers
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Summary:Primary prevention of smoking in adolescents requires effective screening instruments for identifying those adolescents who are most likely to experiment with cigarettes. This study investigated the predictive value of a measure of susceptibility to smoking (the lack of a firm commitment not to smoke) for predicting smoking initiation 1 and 2 years later among 687 seventh-grade nonsmokers. Results showed that susceptible adolescents were approximately two to three times more likely to experiment with cigarettes during the ensuing 2 years than were nonsusceptible adolescents. At the lower levels of smoking, these relationships persisted even after controlling for psychosocial variables. Measures of susceptibility to smoking could be an effective tool for identifying adolescents at increased risk of experimenting with cigarettes or assessing their readiness for smoking-prevention programs.
ISSN:0306-4603
1873-6327
DOI:10.1016/0306-4603(95)00107-7