Cigarette smoking among adolescents remains high, with almost one-quarter (23%) of high school seniors reporting daily smoking in 1999. The majority of high school smokers have seriously thought about quitting, but few succeed, encumbered by nicotine dependence. Little is known about the factors associated with quitting behavior among high school students. Such information is critical to the development of new public health smoking cessation interventions tailored to the special needs of adolescent smokers.
This presentation describes a multivariate regression analysis of youth quitting intentions and behavior, using data from the nationally representative school-based sample included in the 1996 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Study of Smoking and Tobacco Use Among Young People. Environmental, familial, individual, and social factors hypothesized to be associated with quitting intentions and behavior among current high school smokers aged 13-19 were examined. Pre-contemplators---those youth who had not ever seriously thought about quitting---were more likely to be younger, smoke fewer than 20 cigarettes per day, have parents who have not stated their disapproval of smoking, have a non-smoking father, value their friends' opinion about smoking less, and have had no exposure to a class on the risks of smoking. Peer smoking, familial relationships, home smoking restrictions, sports participation and school performance were among those factors that did not delineate readiness to quit. Almost half (47.5%) of youth contemplating quitting had tried to quit at least twice. Specific environmental, social or familial influences affecting quit behavior will be discussed in the context of potential intervention programs.
Learning Objectives: 1. Articulate the predictors of youth smoking cessation. 2. Recognize how different environmental, individual, social, and familial factors impact one choice to quit. 3. Identify possible avenues for intervention with current adolescent smokers
Keywords: Adolescents, Smoking Cessation
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.