Patricia A. Aloise-Young

Role of the self-image and smoker stereotype in smoking onset during early adolescence: A longitudinal study.

The present study utilized a longitudinal design to assess whether self-consistency or self-enhancement motives are predictive of future smoking onset. Participants were 1,222 nonsmoking 5th through 8th graders who were followed into the next academic year. The results showed that teens who were above the median in similarity between their self-image and smoker stereotype on coolness, sociability, and intelligence were almost twice as likely to show smoking onset at the 2nd measurement. This is supportive of a self-consistency motive for adolescent smoking. The results of this study provide an important extension to previous cross-sectional research in this area.

Electric Energy Management in the Smart Home: Perspectives on Enabling Technologies and Consumer Behavior

Smart homes hold the potential for increasing energy efficiency, decreasing costs of energy use, decreasing the carbon footprint by including renewable resources, and transforming the role of the occupant. At the crux of the smart home is an efficient electric energy management system that is enabled by emerging technologies in the electricity grid and consumer electronics. This paper presents a discussion of the state of the art in electricity management in smart homes, the various enabling technologies that will accelerate this concept, and topics around consumer behavior with respect to energy usage.

Possible Selves and Negative Health Behaviors During Early Adolescence

The relation of the possible selves to cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption was the focus for this study. Participants (1,606 students in Grades 6 through 9) listed their possible selves and reported their cigarette and alcohol use. The results revealed that adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use were related negatively to (a) the number of positive expected selves and (b) the balance between expected selves and feared selves. However, when both possible-selves variables were entered in the model simultaneously, only the number of positive expected selves consistently was related to negative health behavior. In addition, the number of positive expected selves was related more strongly to the negative health behavior of eighth and ninth graders than to that of sixth and seventh graders. The findings from the present study are contrasted with previous research. In addition, the utility of an intervention involving the possible selves is discussed.

PREVALENCE OF CIGARETTE SMOKING AMONG RURAL ADOLESCENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

Results are reported from a national U.S. study of cigarette smoking carried out from 1996 to 2000 involving 68,270 adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model smoking as a function of grade, gender, region, and community size (rurality). Significant effects were found for rurality, region, grade, and gender. The highest levels of smoking were found for rural adolescents, and adolescents living in the South. Males smoked more than females in all regions except the West, where the reverse was true. Given that rural adolescents smoke more “heavily” than do their nonrural peers, researchers must devote more attention to understanding the factors that underlie smoking initiation in rural youth. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

Mediators and moderators of magazine advertisement effects on adolescent cigarette smoking

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relation between magazine advertising for cigarettes and adolescent cigarette smoking. Participants (242 adolescents) reported their frequency of reading 46 magazines and their attention to cigarette ads. Recognition of cigarette ads, passive peer pressure (i.e., normative beliefs), and the smoker image also were assessed. Results indicate that exposure to cigarette advertising and recognition of ads augment the effect of passive peer pressure on smoking. In addition, a positive smoker image was associated with attention to advertising and mediated the relation between attention and smoking. It is suggested that the effect of magazine ads on adolescents should be considered in policymaking on cigarette advertising.

Sociometric status as a predictor of onset and progression in adolescent cigarette smoking.

The relation between sociometric status and adolescent cigarette smoking was examined in a 1-year longitudinal study. Students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades (N=1,630) were asked to nominate peers in their grade at school whom they liked and peers whom they disliked. These nominations were used to classify participants into one of five sociometric categories (popular, rejected, controversial, neglected, and average). Participants also reported their lifetime cigarette use at two measurements in consecutive school years. The results indicated that rejected and controversial adolescents were more likely than average adolescents to (a) report lifetime smoking at time 1 (T1) and (b) report onset of smoking at time 2 (T2). However, among adolescents who had already tried cigarettes at T1, rejected and controversial youth were not at increased risk for progression in total lifetime cigarette smoking (i.e., higher levels of total lifetime cigarette use at T2). Thus the results confirm that controversial youth are similar to rejected youth in their risk for onset of cigarette smoking during adolescence.

On the design of a survey for reconciling consumer behaviors with demand response in the smart home

There are many avenues of current and future research for addressing peak load strain on the U.S. electricity grid. With peak loads in many areas mainly comprising residential loads, the opportunities for residential demand response are great. Behavior changes accompanying technical solutions hold the promise of large and long lasting energy savings and peak reductions. By engaging disciplines outside the typical domain of the electric power industry, specifically psychology, there is the opportunity to motivate residential customers. This may be achieved by customized prompts and feedback designed to change behaviors. The result may lead to more efficient operation of the distribution grid, substantial peak load reductions, and efficiency gains. To that end, this paper presents two potential multi-criteria decision-making methodologies as they would apply to a residential building energy management system. The control system would need user-specific input, and this paper presents a procedure that incorporates fundamentals of social psychology for developing a survey to ascertain user preferences.

A Qualitative Study of Smoker Identity Among College Student Smokers

Background: This research was motivated by findings that college students who smoke cigarettes often self-categorize as nonsmokers, that is, they reject the social identity of “smoker.” Objectives: The goal of the present study was to shed light on college students’ smoker identities beyond the smoker/nonsmoker dichotomy. Methods: Focus groups were conducted to investigate how college students categorize their own smoking patterns and to identify what behaviors and attitudes are associated with these different categories of smoker identities. Forty-one students from a western university participated in this study in November 2011. Results: The focus group results indicated that there were five distinct smoker identities on campus. Light and regular smokers were the daily smoker identities present, while stress, social, and drunk smokers were the occasional smoker identities. Moreover, each of these smoker identities was defined by a unique pattern of smoking behavior, attitudes, and motives. Conclusions/Importance: These findings support the notion that there are different types of smokers, both daily and occasional, in the college population. We suggest that researchers, healthcare providers, and prevention/intervention programs may all benefit from distinguishing between these different types of smokers.

A Longitudinal Examination of the Relation Between Internalizing Problem Behaviors and Early Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal relation between internalizing problem behaviors (measured with the anxious/depressed and somatic complaints subscales of the Achenbach Teachers Report Form) and self-reported cigarette smoking behavior and intentions during early adolescence. In addition, a possible mediating role of perceived harm was investigated. Methods: Sixth graders and their teachers were surveyed in the sixth grade and students were surveyed again in the seventh grade. Smoking behavior and intentions were assessed with five items including lifetime use, 30-day use, tobacco user status (nonsmoker to heavy smoker), and two intentions/behavioral expectations items. In addition to perceived harm from smoking, reasons for smoking and reasons for not smoking were included on the survey. Results: As hypothesized, teacher reports of sixth-grade internalizing problem behaviors were negatively related to seventh-grade smoking behavior and intentions. Moreover, perceived harm from smoking was negatively related to smoking and intentions. The hypothesized mediating role of perceived harm in the internalizing to smoking relationship was not supported. Conclusions: Potential differences in the relation between internalizing and smoking across adolescence are discussed. Specifically, the results of the present study and an examination of prior literature suggest that in early adolescence internalizing problems are negatively related to cigarette smoking, whereas in middle and late adolescence the opposite is true.

Identifying Perceived Barriers and Benefits to Reducing Energy Consumption in an Affordable Housing Complex

Reduction of energy consumption in the affordable housing sector is highly impacted by human behavior. However, only limited behavior change research exists that is aimed at reducing energy consumption in this sector. This study seeks to implement the first two phases of the community-based social marketing (CBSM) framework in an affordable housing setting. The goals of the research are to identify the optimal behaviors for energy reduction and to identify the perceived barriers and benefits associated with those behaviors in a low-income housing facility. The results of this study identify five target behaviors along with their barriers and benefits. In addition, the study identifies potential issues and nuances in the CBSM process that researchers should take into consideration during future implementations of CBSM in affordable housing environments.