A Systems Perspective on Adolescent Cigarette Smoking: The Role of Social Networks and Social Support

Despite advances in tobacco control, cigarette smoking among adolescent youth remains a challenge, as current estimates of adolescent smoking in the United States rest at nearly 23%. Adolescent smoking is shaped by numerous forces, including youths' social networks of peers and the social processes generated in such networks such as social support. Using a systems science approach, the social context of adolescent smoking may be conceptualized as an interlocking system of networks among adolescents. The current study examines two types of networks, specifically adolescents' 1) proximal egocentric friendship networks and 2) the broader social context of their sociometric school networks. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, this study examines how social support flows through this system in relation to adolescent smoking. This study will employ two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which was conducted with a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Implications for smoking related policy relevant to adolescents will also be discussed.