Citation

Huebner AJ, Shettler L, Matheson JL, Meszaros PS, Piercy FP, Davis SD. Addict. Behav. 2005; 30(1): 167-173.

Affiliation

Department of Human Development, Virginia Tech, Northern Virginia Center, 7054 Haycock Road, Room 202G, Falls Church, VA 22043, USA. ahuebner@vt.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.04.004

PMID

15561457

Abstract

We examined multiple ecological factors (individual, family, peer, school, and community) associated with female adolescent former smokers (FS), current smokers (CS), and never smokers (NS) in a sample of 2029 seventh to twelfth grade girls living in a rural area of Virginia. We were particularly interesting in examining variables related to FS. Compared to CS, FS reported lower levels of delinquency, less coping by taking drugs, less availability of cigarettes, and less alcohol and marijuana use. They also reported less depression, fewer suicidal thoughts, and fewer suicide attempts than CS. FS reported spending more time in community clubs, had higher self-esteem, obtained higher grades, had more parental monitoring, more parent attachment, and more school attachment than CS. Logistical regression analysis predicting current or former smoking status revealed significant effects on coping by taking drugs, alcohol use, depression, grades, parental monitoring, and perceived availability of cigarettes. The findings have implications for smoking intervention programs with adolescent girls in rural areas.