Sensation Seeking and Adolescent Cigarette Smoking: Examining Multiple Pathways in Cross-Sectional Data

Abstract

This study applies Jessor and Jessor's problem behavior theory to examine factors predicting adolescent smoking behavior both directly and indirectly. Measures include adolescent smoking and other psychosocial variables including sensation seeking, peer smoking behavior, parental monitoring, and delinquent behaviors. Middle school students (N = 260) from two schools in the northeast United States participated in the study. The results indicate that sensation seeking and parental monitoring contribute to adolescent smoking indirectly, through the mediation of peer smoking behavior and engagement in delinquent behaviors. Peer smoking behavior and delinquent behaviors predict adolescent smoking directly. Implications of these findings are discussed.Keywords: Adolescent smoking, peer smoking, parental monitoring, problem behavior theory, sensation seeking.Tobacco use primarily begins in early adolescence [1]. Each day, 6000 children under 18 years smoke their first cigarette [2]. Mowery, Farrelly, Haviland, et al. [3] report that 51% of the US population aged 11 to 18 years have tried smoking and about 300,000 adolescent established smokers are in the age group of 11 to 14 years. Each year smoking causes approximately 435,000 premature deaths and over 5 million years of potential life lost [4]. Findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) suggest that tobacco use will contribute to more than 10 million deaths per year by 2020 [5]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [6] estimate that 6.4 million current child smokers will eventually die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.The Surgeon General's report of 1994 described the health problems caused by cigarette smoking among young people, including cough and phlegm production, an increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses, decreased physical fitness, and potential retardation in the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function [7]. When smoking begins at an early age, the risk of heavy smoking and nicotine addiction increases [8]. Tobacco use in adolescence is also associated with a range of health-compromising behaviors including being involved in fights, carrying weapons, engaging in high-risk sexual behavior, and using alcohol and other drugs [9].Given such alarming incidence and consequences of cigarette smoking, it is key to explore reasons why adolescents begin smoking. The present study examines the role of different personality, environmental, and behavioral predictors of adolescent smoking by employing problem behavior theory [10,11]. Problem behavior theory has been utilized in past research to examine adolescent and/or youth smoking [12,13]. For instance, Costa et al. [13] employed factors such *Address correspondence to this author at the Communication and Health Issues Partnership for Education and Research, Rutgers University, 4 Huntington Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA; E-mail: smita.banerjee@gmail.com such as perceived peer pressure, stress, depression, selfesteem, academic involv...

Hookah use as a predictor of other tobacco product use: A longitudinal analysis of Texas college students

“…In addition, risk-taking behaviors as assessed by sensation seeking and impulsivity scores were also included, as previous research indicates that both variables are associated with use of ENDS (Case et al, 2017) and other tobacco products in young adults (Spillane, Smith, & Kahler, 2010). Furthermore, there is research to suggest that risk taking personality characteristics may underlie other factors that are associated with tobacco use behaviors such as peer tobacco use, attitudes, and harm perceptions (Banerjee & Greene, 2009; Doran et al, 2011; Hoyle, Stephenson, Palmgreen, Lorch, & Donohew, 2002). Sensation seeking was assessed using the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale 4, which consists of four items (e.g.…”

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“…The questionnaire included topics adapted from the Health Information National Trends Survey of validated measures developed through a series of health communication studies in Korea [ 12 , 21 ]. Sensation-seeking behavior was defined as an individual’s innate propensity to seek out novel, strong, and intricate experiences and feelings and to willingly take physical and socioeconomic risks to have such experiences and feelings [ 22 , 23 ]. Sensation-seeking is strongly associated with a variety of illegal and risky behaviors, such as smoking, among adolescents [ 24 ].…”

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“…Sensation seeking is one important characteristic of an adolescents’ personality [ 24 ]. It has been associated with a number of risky behaviors including smoking, heavy drinking, and drug abuse [ 25 ].…”