Year: 2009
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Adolescents' relationships can play an influential role in adopting, maintaining, or changing health behaviors. Previous research has suggested that adolescent dating is a risk factor for both concurrent and prospective tobacco use. This study extends previous research by examining whether a partner's smoking status moderated the relationship between dating and adolescent smoking. METHODS: Participants were 1,263 9th and 10th grade students who took part in a longitudinal study investigating the social and emotional contexts of adolescent smoking patterns. Adolescents were recruited into the longitudinal study based on prior smoking history. The presence of a romantic partner, the partner's smoking status, and the adolescents' smoking behavior were assessed at baseline and at 15 months. RESULTS: Our findings indicated that a change in dating status from not dating to having a partner significantly increased the odds of the adolescent smoking at 15 months but significantly only for those who dated a smoker. This effect was especially pronounced among boys. All boys who dated a smoker smoked themselves. Among adolescents who smoked at 15 months, there was also a strong protective effect among boys for dating a nonsmoker, compared with either those who did not have partners or those with smoking partners; boys with nonsmoking partners smoked significantly less than those with partners who smoked or those without partners. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the importance of considering the smoking status of the romantic partner in the smoking-dating relationship in adolescents.
Source: Nicotine & Tobacco Research
DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntp127
Authors: Robin J. Mermelstein, Peter J. Colvin, Sven D. Klingemann
Institution: University of Illinois Chicago
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2156257753