Work

Gender differences in psychological factors shaping smoking decisions of Chilean adolescents

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined gender differences in how internalizing and externalizing symptoms affect adolescents' decisions about smoking in Chile, where girls smoke at some of the highest rates in the world. In multivariate logistic regression analyses with 607 adolescents, internalizing symptoms, such as depressed mood and anxiety, predicted smoking among girls more than boys, with girls who were low in internalizing symptoms being more likely to smoke than those who were high in internalizing symptoms. In Chile's high-risk context, internalizing symptoms may be indirectly protective for girls by decreasing their exposure to peer pressure and related influences that encourage cigarette use.

Source: Journal of Health Psychology

DOI: 10.1177/1359105316634451

Authors: Kristen Elmore, Jorge Delva, Fernando Andrade

Institution: University of Michigan

Language: English

Topic: Smoking Behavior and Cessation

Subfield: Physiology (medical)

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Gender equality

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development