Do attitudes predict uptake of smoking in teenagers? Case not proven

Martin J. Jarvis, Eileen Goddard and Ann McNeill

Social Science & Medicine, 1990, vol. 31, issue 9, 997-1000

Abstract: A recent paper by Charlton and Blair (Soc. Sci. Med. 29, 813-818, 1989) reported a large prospective study on smoking in 12 and 13 year-old schoolchildren. The main new findings were that attitudes, particularly among girls, were important predictors of the uptake of smoking in never-smokers. The present paper presents a critique of this study and argues that the findings may not reflect true predictive relationships. Data are presented from OPCS-conducted national surveys which indicate that a substantial minority of children who initially classify themselves as never-smokers admit to having tried a cigarette when prompted. These undisclosed triers differ from confirmed never-smokers on relevant predictor variables, and are significantly more likely to agree that they will try a cigarette again before leaving school (12% vs 4% P

Keywords: smoking; teenagers; attitudes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1990
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