RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS - AN INTEGRATION OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ANDPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO ADOLESCENT SMOKING

Epidemiological research has identified parental, sibling and peer gro up smoking as risk factors for adolescent smoking. In contrast, psycho logical research has emphasised the importance of smoking related beli efs. The present study aimed to integrate these literatures. Four hund red and twenty nine 16-19 year olds from educational, training and emp loyment centres completed a questionnaire about their risk factors, sm oking related beliefs and smoking behaviour and were categorised as ei ther low, medium or high risk on the basis of their risk score. The re sults suggested that risk status was related not only to whether or no t the individual currently smoked but also to characteristics of their smoking behaviour and smoking related beliefs such as whether they ha d ever tried smoking, the amount smoked, their identity as a smoker, s moking self efficacy, smoking related behavioural intentions and belie fs about the costs and benefits of smoking. However, the relationship between risk and beliefs was not always simply correlational The resul ts suggested that psychological factors moderated the impact of risk w ith beliefs that smoking was not unsociable and that lung cancer was c urable promoting smoking in low risk subjects. Further, the results in dicated that some high risk individuals may be protected from smoking if they believe that smoking is unsociable and do not believe that smo king relaxes people. The results are discussed in terms of the integra tion of epidemiological and psychological approaches to smoking and th e implications for health promotion interventions.