From adolescence to adulthood: Age-related changes in beliefs about cigarette smoking in a midwestern community sample

The current study used a cohort-sequential design to examine age-related ch anges in health-relevant beliefs from the middle school years through age 3 7 in a large, midwestern, community sample (N = 8,556). Results suggest sys tematic age-related changes such that beliefs in the personalized risks of smoking declined in middle school and then increased, beliefs in generalize d health risks increased beginning in the middle school years, and values p laced on health as an outcome decreased in the high school years and then i ncreased. These findings suggest that intervention programs must counter de clining personalized risk perceptions among middle school students and decl ining values placed on health among high school age students.