TRANSTHEORETICAL MEASURES FOR ADOLESCENT AND ADULT SMOKERS - SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Background. The prevalence of smoking among adolescents has remained s table and has increased in the past few years. Longitudinal results fr om a multitude of efforts to reduce adolescent smoking have been mostl y disappointing. Methods. This paper discusses, in light of the theore tical knowledge obtained among adults and the empirical data collected among adults and adolescents, the applicability of the central concep ts of the Trantheoretical Model of Change to the adolescent smoking pr oblem. Results. According to the stage of change distributions, adoles cent smokers appeared to be somewhat less prepared to quit than adults . Both adults and adolescents utilize identical cognitive and behavior al activities to change their smoking although teens' process use appe ars to differ from that of adults at each stage of change. According t o the decisional balance measure, the pros of smoking among adults and teens exceeded the cons in early stages of change and then reversed o nce smokers took action to quit. The levels of temptations to smoke am ong adults and adolescents were almost identical at each stage. Conclu sions. Both age groups turned out to be remarkably similar in the Tran stheoretical measures, and, except for the processes of change, both g roups exhibited similar behavior at different stages of the smoking ce ssation process. (C) 1998 American Medical Association.