Abstract
Results from a survey of smoking prevalence and smoking beliefs among 10,579 pupils from 10 co-educational comprehensive schools from the Bristol conurbation suggest that there is more to adolescent smoking than a vulnerability to peer group pressure. Those adolescents who saw themselves as more addicted, those who anticipate more difficulty in stopping and/or reported more craving for cigarettes had more «external control» beliefs about their health, emphasized to a greater extent intrinsic enjoyment and the calming effect of smoking and rejected ideas that smoking by young people is motivated by the desire to look grown up or feel important. Young smokers appear to attribute their behaviour to the intrinsic benefits of smoking itself rather than to external pressure or to the desire to conform to peer group norms. The implications of these findings for health education programmes are discussed.
Résumé
Une enquête par questionnaire a été effectuée auprès de 10 579 élèves de 10 «compréhensives schools» mixtes de la région urbaine de Bristol. Les questions concernaient la fréquence de l’usage du tabac et les opinions des sujets à propos de cet usage. Les résultats suggèrent que l’usage du tabac par les adolescents est plus, pour eux, que la conséquence de leur vulnérabilité aux pressions du groupe des pairs. Les adolescents qui se perçoivent eux-mêmes comme plus dépendants, ayant du mal à arrêter de fumer et/ou ayant un besoin maladif de cigarettes, affichent par ailleurs davantage d’opinions de type «contrôle externe» concernant leur santé; ils insistent également de façon plus importante sur le plaisir intrinsèque que donne le tabac, son effet calmant, et rejettent l’idée que l’usage du tabac par les jeunes soit motivé par le désir de paraître plus grand ou de se sentir important. Les jeunes fumeurs attribuent leur comportement aux bénéfices intrinsèques de l’usage du tabac plutôt qu’à des pressions externes et au désir de se conformer aux normes du groupe des pairs. Les implications de ces résultats concernant les programmes d’éducation de la santé font l’objet d’une discussion.
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This study was supported by a grant from the Health Education Council, London.
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Eiser, J.R., Morgan, M. & Gammage, P. Belief correlates of perceived addiction in young smokers. Eur J Psychol Educ 2, 375–385 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172622
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172622