No abstract

The present study investigated the importance of the perceived injunctive norm to predict early adolescent cigarette smoking intentions. A total of 271 6th graders completed a survey that included perceived prevalence of friend smoking (descriptive norm), perceptions of friends’ disapproval of smoking (injunctive norm), and future smoking intentions. Participants also listed their five best friends, in which the actual injunctive norm was calculated. Results showed that smoking intentions were significantly correlated with the perceived injunctive norm but not with the actual injunctive norm. Secondly, the perceived injunctive norm predicted an additional 3.4% of variance in smoking intentions above and beyond the perceived descriptive norm. These results demonstrate the importance of the perceived injunctive norm in predicting early adolescent smoking intentions.

No abstract

Potential differences in the relation between internalizing and smoking across adolescence are discussed. Specifically, the results of the present study and an examination of prior literature suggest that in early adolescence internalizing problems are negatively related to cigarette smoking, whereas in middle and late adolescence the opposite is true.