Peer beliefs and smoking in adolescence: a longitudinal social network analysis

Abstract

Background Peer smoking is one of the strongest predictors of adolescent cigarette use, but less is known about whether other peer characteristics also contribute to this behavior. Objectives This study examines the links between adolescent cigarette use and peer beliefs about smoking. It tests whether peer beliefs about smoking are associated with changes in cigarette use, whether this association is a result of changes in individual beliefs about smoking, and how beliefs inform friendship choices. Methods Analyses draw on data collected from 29 school-based networks, each measured at five occasions as students moved from 6th through 9th grade, as part of the study of the PROSPER partnership model. Longitudinal social network models provide estimates of friendship selection and behavior for an average of 6,200 students at each measurement point and more than 9,000 students overall. Results Peer beliefs about smoking influence cigarette use both directly and through their impact on individual beliefs. Respondents tend to name friends whose beliefs about smoking are similar to their own, and the likelihood of being named as a friend is higher for those who report more positive beliefs about smoking. Conclusion The results from this study suggest that peer beliefs about smoking, in addition to peer cigarette use itself, are associated with adolescent smoking through several mechanisms. Because beliefs favorable to cigarette use are present before adolescents actually smoke, these results underscore the importance of implementing smoking prevention programs in early adolescence.

Smoking Diffusion through Networks of Diverse, Urban American Adolescents over the High School Period

“…et al 2013; Haas and Schaefer 2014;Kiuru et al 2010;Mercken et al 2009;Schaefer et al 2012) and that youth were also influenced by their friends in some (but not all) studies, adopting smoking (or nonsmoking) practices that were similar to their friends' behaviors (Go et al 2012;Green et al 2013;Haas and Schaefer 2014;Ragan 2016;Schaefer et al 2012). Friends' smoking has also been identified as a strong predictor of smoking initiation such that youth rarely initiated smoking without exposure to smoking friends (Haas and Schaefer 2014).…”

Der Zusammenhang zwischen schulischer Tabakkontrolle und der wahrgenommenen Raucherprävalenz Jugendlicher

“…Es lassen sich in vielen Studien Ungleichheiten in der häuslichen Exposition und Permissivität gegenüber dem Rauchen für die elterliche Bildung belegen [12,13,18,36], was auf die herausragende Relevanz schulischer Tabakkontrolle als präventives Gegengewicht in diesem Kontext und alsStrategie zurReduzierunggesundheitlicher Ungleichheiten verweist. Die dokumentierten Ergebnisse zum Schultyp und zu rauchenden Freunden sind konsistent mit der sozialen Netzwerkforschung zum jugendlichen Rauchen [34,47], da sie peergroupund schulspezifische Unterschiede in der Exposition gegenüber einer permissiven Rauchumwelt aufzeigen [48]. Dies verweist auf die Relevanz freundschaftlicher Netzwerke für das jugendliche Rauchverhalten und deren Rauchkontexte [15,16,34,40].…”

“…Die dokumentierten Ergebnisse zum Schultyp und zu rauchenden Freunden sind konsistent mit der sozialen Netzwerkforschung zum jugendlichen Rauchen [ 34 , 47 ], da sie peergroup- und schulspezifische Unterschiede in der Exposition gegenüber einer permissiven Rauchumwelt aufzeigen [ 48 ]. Dies verweist auf die Relevanz freundschaftlicher Netzwerke für das jugendliche Rauchverhalten und deren Rauchkontexte [ 15 , 16 , 34 , 40 ].…”

Social norms in adolescent risk engagement and recommendation

“…For instance, the number of teenagers in a car is positively correlated with the likelihood of an accident (Carter et al, 2014), teenage crime is more often committed in groups than alone (Shulman et al, 2013), and peers play a role in adolescents' decisions to start smoking or use illicit drugs (Ragan, 2016). Homophily was proposed as a theoretical framework to understand adolescent peer influence (Kandel, 1978).…”

“…Although studies have shown that adolescents, like adults, conform to social norms when taking risks (Ragan, 2016;van de Bongardt et al, 2015), it still remains unclear to what extent a sensitivity to social norms peaks in adolescence in direct comparison to other age groups. We know that peer approval and belonging are known to be especially motivating for adolescents (Blakemore & Mills, 2014;Crone & Dahl, 2012;Telzer, 2016), and conforming to peer norms is a straightforward way to gain approval and increase belonging (Blakemore, 2008;Blakemore & Mills, 2014;Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004;Simon Ciranka & van den Bos, 2019;Crone & Dahl, 2012;Pickett et al, 2004).…”