Factors associated with smoking behavior in adolescent girls

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between smoking in adolescent girls and levels of social skills, parental smoking, peer smoking and academic achievement. A Smoking Data Survey was administered to 143 girls aged between 12 and 16 to distinguish smokers and nonsmokers and to gain information about parents' smoking behavior, peers' smoking behavior, and the subjects' academic achievement. A second questionnaire, the Problem Inventory for Adolescent Girls, was also administered to determine subjects' levels of social skills. A multiple discriminate analysis was performed on the variables of social skills score, socioeconomic status, mothers' smoking behavior, fathers' smoking behavior, number of peers who smoke and average school grade achieved. Results demonstrated significant differences between the two groups, smokers and nonsmokers, p < .0001. A series of univariate F tests showed significant group differences between smokers and nonsmokers on the variables of social skills score, mothers' smoking behavior, number of peers who smoke, and average school grade achieved. Smokers, compared to nonsmokers, had lower social skills scores, a higher percentage of them had mothers and friends who smoke, and they achieved lower grades overall than nonsmokers.