Factors Related to Tobacco Use among Adolescents in Southern Taiwan

• Published in: The Journal of Nursing Research Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 243 - 251
• Main Authors: 林碧莉(Pi-Li Lin), 曾麗琦(Li-Chi Tzeng), 呂桂雲(Kuei-Yun Lu), 徐祥明(Hsiang-Ming Hsu)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 台灣 台灣護理學會 01.12.2008; 臺灣護理學會; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescents; Attitude to Health; Chi-Square Distribution; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Marital Status; MEDLINE; Motivation; Nursing Methodology Research; Parents - education; Parents - psychology; Peer Group; Prevalence; Psychology, Adolescent; Public health nurse; Public Health Nursing; Risk Factors; School nurse; School Nursing; SCIE; Scopus; Self Efficacy; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Smoking - psychology; Smoking Prevention; SSCI; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan - epidemiology; TSCI; TSSCI; 公衛護士; 吸菸; 學校護士; 青少年; 學校護士; public health nurse; adolescents; school nurse; 青少年; 公衛護士; smoking; 吸菸
• ISSN: 1682-3141
• DOI: 10.1097/01.JNR.0000387312.12763.a3

Identifying the factors related to the initiation and continuance of smoking among youth has been regarded as a crucial step for school nurses and public health nurses to develop effective smoking prevention and cessation programs in schools and communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to adolescent tobacco use in southern Taiwan. A total of 4,500 study samples were selected at random from the students of all high schools located in Pingdong County. This process yielded 3,307 valid samples (a 73.5% response rate). Study results found 62.4% (n = 2,063) reported never having smoked before. Thirty-eight percent (n = 1,244) of participants had experience using tobacco, 59.3% (n = 738) reported being ex-smokers, and 40.7% (n = 506) were current smokers. This study found that having friends who offered cigarettes, academic achievement, fatherʼs educational level, perceived peer smoking behavior to be primary influences on smoking, attitude, and self-efficacy and significant predicators of adolescentsʼ current smoking behaviors. Parentsʼ marital status and having classmate who offered cigarettes were significant predictors of adolescent smoking behavior. Study findings can provide a basis for school and public health nurses to design effective smoking prevention and cessation programs in schools and community settings. This study suggests further experimental studies are necessary to test the effectiveness of tobacco control programs designed in reference to the findings of this study.