Boy Smokers’ Rationalisations for Engaging in Potentially Fatal Behaviour: In-Depth Interviews in The Netherlands

Michael Schreuders, Nikha T. Krooneman, Bas Van den Putte and Anton E. Kunst
Additional contact information
Michael Schreuders: Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, 1100DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Nikha T. Krooneman: Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, 1100DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Bas Van den Putte: Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1018WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Anton E. Kunst: Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Centre, 1100DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Adolescent smokers engage in cognitive rationalisation processes that lower perceptions of personal vulnerability to the health consequences of smoking. There is, however, hardly any evidence that provides in-depth insights on adolescents’ recurring rationalisations. Therefore, we explored how boy smokers deal with the knowledge that they are engaging in potentially fatal behaviour. Interviews were held with 16 boy smokers aged 16 to 17 years old. The qualitative analysis focussed on combining boys’ reasons about why they think they will not experience severe health consequences into coherent rationalisations that recurred among interviewees. Three rationalisations emerged from the analysis. First, boys trivialize the immediate consequences and think these can be compensated for and are outweighed by the benefits of smoking. Second, boys assume that smoking will only take place during adolescence and they will, therefore, recover from the damage inflicted. Third, boys believe that they have control over the amount and frequency of smoking and, thereby, can ensure that they will not experience fatal consequences. Boys’ recurring rationalisations build on their view that they are supposed to have fun and will not become typical adult smokers. Interventions should address these rationalisations in order to increase adolescents’ perceptions of personal vulnerability, and thereby contribute to decreasing adolescent smoking.

Keywords: adolescent health; adolescent smoking; tobacco; health risk appraisal; cognitive dissonance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/767/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/4/767/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:4:p:767-:d:141282

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().