Dee Burton

Moderators of Peer Social Influence in Adolescent Smoking

Few studies have examined the relevance of social-influence-related moderator variables in the genesis of adolescent smoking. In the present study, the interactive effects of moderator variables with social influence (peer smoking and peer approval) on adolescent smoking were examined in a sample of high school students. Potential moderator variables of the effects of social influence were self-efficacy judgments, self-esteem, perceived stress, parental supervision after school, and gender. Results demonstrated that self-efficacy judgments signficantly moderated the predictive effects of social influence on smoking tendencies. These findings are consistent with theories suggesting that certain personality or situational variables act as buffers that either protect the adolescent against social influence or make the adolescent more susceptible to such influence.

Two-Year Behavior Outcomes of Project Towards No Tobacco Use

The article presents 2-year follow-up data from a school-based tobacco use prevention project designed to test the effectiveness of 3 primary components in social influence programs. The components either teach refusal skills, awareness of social value misperceptions, or physical consequences. Curricula were tested with a randomized experiment involving 48 junior high schools. These data suggested that (a) a physical-consequences curriculum is successful at attenuating increases in adolescent smokeless tobacco use, (b) cigarette experimentation may be attenuated by various approaches, and (c) a comprehensive program with all 3 components was necessary to attenuate increases in weekly use of both forms of tobacco. These results also indicate that school-based tobacco use interventions can be effective at least 2 years postprogram, after students make their transition to high school.

Group self-identification and adolescent cigarette smoking : a 1-year prospective study

As an extension of previous work, we analyzed the longitudinal relations between group self-identification and adolescent cigarette smoking. The predictive precedence of cigarette smoking and identification with 6 different types of peer groups was examined. Results indicated that 7th-grade group self-identification predicted 8th-grade cigarette smoking, whereas 7th-grade cigarette smoking did not predict 8th-grade group self-identification. Group self-identification also was compared with 7 other psychosocial variables as predictors of smoking 1 year later. The pattern of results suggests that group self-identification is about as good a predictor of smoking as other psychosocial variables, and that group self-identification is more than a mere proxy of other psychosocial variables.

Prospective correlates of exclusive or combined adolescent use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco: A replication-extension☆

This one-year prospective study provides an extension of a previous cross-sectional investigation. The previous study found that the number of tobacco products used (i.e., smokeless tobacco, cigarettes), not type of tobacco product, was associated with higher scores on problem-prone variables. In the present study, a sample of 842 southern California seventh-grade adolescents who had not tried either cigarettes or smokeless tobacco were identified and surveyed one year later. Onset of tobacco use was examined as an outcome variable predicted by scores on four psychosocial and two alcohol use variables in seventh grade. Unlike the previous study, females were included in the current study, and the potential moderating effect of gender on the pattern of predictors was examined. Overall, these findings indicate that onset of cigarette smoking or use of both tobacco products is associated with alcohol use, risk taking, and low self-esteem. This study provides modest support for the previous investigation. In addition, two of the predictor variables were found to interact with gender. Risk-taking was found to have a stronger association with initiation of tobacco use for females than males. Susceptibility to social influence to use tobacco was found to be associated with initiation of tobacco use for males only.

Reasons for Quitting and Smoking Temptation among Adolescent Smokers: Gender Differences

Adolescent cigarette smokers from randomly selected classrooms from 24 California and Illinois high schools were assessed regarding their interest in cessation, reasons for quitting, and smoking temptation circumstances. These data were analyzed by gender. Males and females were not found to differ in quit stage or perceived likelihood of ever quitting smoking, although males reported being somewhat more likely to have ever tried to quit in the past. The associations of reasons for quitting were not found to vary by gender in most comparisons. On the other hand, the associations of smoking temptation circumstances with gender showed that a greater percentage of females than males reported more circumstances that would make them tempted to smoke. Smoking cigarettes to regulate ones affective states, and to avoid nicotine withdrawal, may be functions of smoking that impede efforts at quitting, particularly among adolescent females.

Naturalistic Observation of Adolescent Tobacco Use

A naturalistic observation study of adolescent tobacco use was conducted to corroborate previous studies which used self-report questionnaire or structured interview methods to study this problem behavior. Several findings converged with previous accounts of adolescent tobacco use. For example, most use occurred in small groups. However, other findings diverged somewhat from previous research in that an unexpectedly low number of offers of tobacco was observed, nonusers were present in smoking groups, and solitary smoking was common. These data suggest that direct, normative social pressure to use tobacco may not be as frequent as more subtle informational social influence, at least in high school adolescent tobacco use groups.

CORRELATES OF EXCLUSIVE OR COMBINED USE OF CIGARETTES AND SMOKELESS TOBACCO AMONG MALE ADOLESCENTS

Past studies which examined correlates of smokeless tobacco or cigarette use have investigated use of one tobacco product regardless of use of the other product. Thus, the etiology of exclusive use of the two tobacco products is not clear. The present study investigated the relationship of problem-prone-related variables to exclusive versus overlapping use of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes. Two samples of southern California male students (eighth-grade and high school) were divided into groups according to their tobacco use status: neither product, cigarettes only, smokeless tobacco only, or both tobacco products. Generally, triers and monthly users of both tobacco products reported a higher risk-taking preference, greater susceptibility to peer social influence to use tobacco products, and greater likelihood to have tried marijuana and alcohol than did subjects who were not users of either tobacco product. Adolescents who used either product, but not both, reported similar scores on most of the variables examined, which fell in between combined or nonuse categories. These results suggest that the number of tobacco products used, not the specific product, is associated with problem-prone attributes.

Availability of Tobacco Products at Stores Located near Public Schools

The nearby store is an obvious major site where adolescents obtain tobacco products. We investigated availability of tobacco products to adolescents at those stores located closest to public junior high and high schools by using 3 novel methods: (1) interviewing store personnel; (2) recording types and location of tobacco products, promotional items, and the legal age warning signs within stores; and (3) observing purchasing behavior. Store personnel were interviewed at randomly selected Southern California stores (n = 36) and Illinois stores (n = 12). Results showed that store personnel used tobacco at twice the rate of the general public, and that they often use tobacco while working at the store. Promotional advertisements were present at many stores, while tobacco use legal age signs were posted at few stores. Approximately 50% of the store personnel admitted that they would sell to minors, and many reported that they had seen teenagers using tobacco near the stores. Several apparently illegal purchases were observed. Tobacco use prevention program and policy implications are discussed.

Media Manipulation of Adolescents' Personal Level Judgments regarding Consequences of Smokeless Tobacco Use

Videotapes were developed to try to impact on personal level judgments of concern and risk in the context of smokeless tobacco use, a growing substance use problem in adolescents. In a within-and-between-subjects design, convincingness (i.e., dramatic portrayal) of the videotaped message (high and low) and perceived probability of consequences portrayed in the message (high and low) were manipulated. Both manipulations were done by varying presentation style of the same, accurate information. The manipulation of convincingness did not alter the impact of the message on most judgments, whereas the manipulation of probability of consequences did. Two individual difference predictors, prior use of smokeless tobacco and male sex role orientation, were also found to enhance the amount of change in personal level judgments, but these variables did not interact with the message manipulations. These results suggest that a media manipulation of probability of consequences would be more effective than a manipulation of convincingness of message on impacting adolescent judgments of concern and risk regarding the use of smokeless tobacco.

Consistency Versus Internality as Initiators of Behavior Change

This study investigated the interaction of individual differences in generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement with treatment conditions designed to correspond to specific internal versus external beliefs. Generalized expectancy for internal versus external control was assessed by the Rotter I-E scale. Treatment conditions compared smoking-cessation counseling sessions including an internal therapist message, sessions including an external therapist message, and control sessions including no experimental message. The three treatment conditions had in common a set of behavioral instructions to 5s. The predicted operation of a consistency factor in effecting the study criterion of cessation of smoking was not obtained. There was a statistically nonsignificant tendency for both therapist messages to interfere with smoking cessation on the part of more internal 5s. It was suggested that the standard set of behavioral instructions was the most helpful component in leading t...