Gender Differences in Adolescent Smoking: Mediator and Moderator Effects of Self-Generated Expected Smoking Outcomes

Abstract

To examine relations among gender, self-generated smoking-outcome expectancies, and smoking in adolescents. Students from one all-girls' (n=350; 53%) and one all-boys' (n=315; 47%) Catholic high school participated. Analyses included binary and ordinal logistic regression. For boys, smoking behavior was associated with buzz (odds radio [OR] = 1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-2.83, p < .001), pleasure (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.01-2.16, p = .044), taste/smell (OR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.12-4.19, p = .022), stimulation (OR = 3.69, 95% CI: 1.32-10.28, p = .013), and exercise/sport impairment (OR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.68-4.81, p < .001). Among girls, weight control (OR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.13-0.36, p < .001), negative aesthetics (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.28-0.64, p < .001), addiction (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.28-0.55, p < .001), and negative mood (OR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.97, p = .041) predicted smoking. Buzz (beta = 2.88, p = .004) mediated the gender-smoking relationship. Moderators included negative social (beta = -0.45, p = .021) and enhance self-esteem (beta = -1.07, p = .024). Interventions might benefit from tailoring on gender differences in smoking-outcome expectancies.