THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR, DOMAIN-SPECIFIC SELF-EFFICACY AND ADOLESCENT SMOKING

This study applied the theory of planned behavior to adolescent smokin g. The theory maintains that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control predict intentions to smoke. These intentions pred ict smoking behavior, along with a direct effect of perceived behavior al control. In a sample of two hundred eighty-five 15- and 16-year-old students, the theory of planned behavior was shown to provide a compr ehensive theoretical model to account for the predictors of adolescent smoking. The study further examined the effects of self-efficacy in o ther domains on the predictors of smoking. Students with lower conduct /morality self-efficacy had more positive attitudes toward smoking, no rmative influences that approved of smoking and greater perceived beha vioral control to smoke. The results are discussed in terms of potenti al points of intervention to discourage adolescent smoking.