Sex differences in predictors of adolescent smoking cessation

Sex differences in predictors of smoking cessation were investigated among 337 male and 490 female participants in the RAND adolescent panel study. Pa rticipants reported smoking at least 11-20 times during the past year at Gr ade 10, with cessation defined as not smoking during the past year at Grade 12. Controlling for demographics, sex-specific analyses indicated that gir ls who quit smoking within 2 years had friends who smoked less frequently, perceived less parental approval of their smoking, had weaker intentions to continue smoking, used marijuana less frequently, attended fewer different schools, were more likely to have an intact nuclear family, experienced gr eater peer support, and rated themselves as healthier. Similar analyses for boys yielded results that were generally weaker and nonsignificant with sm oking quantity accounting for several associations in the sex-specific mode ls. Despite these differences, interaction tests revealed significant sex d ifferences for only three predictors, Implications of these results for und erstanding adolescent smoking cessation are discussed.