Peers appear to be a big factor in teen-age smoking

The study was designed to probe interpersonal, family and peer factors that pilot smoking from experimentation to dependency.

by Scott J. Turner

A study by five Brown investigators shows that teens with at least two friends who smoke are six times more likely to become regular cigarette users compared to those whose circle of friends does not include smokers.

The researchers analyzed survey data on close to 21,000 teens, looking at teen smoking as a series of stages that include preparation, initial trying, experimentation, regular use and addictive use. The study was designed to probe interpersonal, family and peer factors that pilot smoking from experimentation to dependency, said lead author Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior. It appeared in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology.

“We were interested in whether certain social, cultural and psychological factors were stronger or weaker at particular points along the smoking continuum,” said Lloyd-Richardson. “Identifying variables that have a stronger influence on more regular smoking, as compared to early experimentation, may directly affect the types of smoking prevention programs offered to teen-agers,” she said.

Smoking rates have been on the rise for more than a decade among adolescents. In 1999, more than one in three high school students reported having at least one cigarette in the previous 30 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Among their findings, the researchers show that teen-agers who feel disconnected to their high school are 10 times more likely to smoke compared to peers at ease in their educational setting. Moreover, teen-agers who drink at least twice a month are nine times more likely to try smoking compared to peers who avoid the bottle.

The researchers also find that students in higher grades are more likely to be regular smokers, and minority students, in particular African Americans, are less likely to begin smoking than white students. Delinquent or depressed students have a significantly higher likelihood of passing through each stage of smoking to addictive use, they said.

If one or more parents smoke, teens are 26 percent more likely to move to higher levels of smoking compared to teens whose parents are smoke-free, said the researchers. Although parental smoking does not greatly influence whether sons take their first puff, if moms smoke, daughters are 36 percent more likely to do the same.

Lloyd-Richardson and colleagues hope that the findings will be used in smoking intervention programs to target teens most likely to start and to stay smoking and to improve those programs by highlighting factors that lead to addiction.

“We realize that we are looking at pieces of a very large and complicated puzzle of adolescent smoking,” said Lloyd-Richardson. “In addition to the role of peer smoking, level of family support, other substance use, and personality, this research suggests that our intervention efforts should be tailored to an adolescent’s level of smoking in order to make the most impact and curb the growing teen smoking rates.”

The research was funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Lloyd-Richardson is based in the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Medical School and the Miriam Hospital.