Beliefs about smoking cigarettes among adolescents in Yunnan Province, China

• Objective: Adolescence is an important time period in smoking experimentation and initiation. This study examined heterogeneity in key beliefs about smoking intention among Chinese adolescents.Methods: Survey data came from 951 students (18 and 19 years) in two high schools in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. The survey questions assessed smoking beliefs and perceptions based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Regression and latent class analysis were utilized to identify key beliefs (i.e., beliefs that are most influential in smoking intention) and their heterogeneity.Results: Emotion-related beliefs were reported by both genders, highlighting the role of anxiety and stress in smoking intention. Female and male adolescents had different sets of key beliefs. There were distinct subgroups of beliefs in the sample (two among female adolescents, and three among male adolescents) characterized by disparate patterns of behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs and smoking status.Conclusions: Considerable heterogeneity in belief profiles, which differs based on gender and smoking status, furnishes a more complete understanding of smoking intention among Chinese adolescents. Gender-specific anti-smoking interventions can be targeted to the beliefs of specific subgroups of adolescents. Stress management for students could also be a useful tool to prevent smoking uptake.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

China

key beliefs

smoking

adolescent

Theory of Planned Behavior

latent class analysis

Public health

Folkhälsovetenskap

Psychology

Psykologi

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