Adolescent stress and future smoking behaviour: A prospective investigation

Objective: Adolescent stress has been retrospectively associated with various measures of smoking behaviour in school-aged samples. The present study sought to extend this to a prospective investigation in order to examine the possibly formative influences of stress on the onset of smoking in adolescents. Method: A 12-month follow-up study related sources and degree of adolescent stress measured at study commencement with the onset of smoking behaviour 12 months later in a large cohort of adolescents attending Australian secondary schools. Results: Adolescent stress was only weakly related to smoking onset in adolescent males and even this could possibly be explained by other factors. In adolescent girls, however, prospective associations were stronger and more broadly represented across the various domains of adolescent stress, suggesting that stress may exert a formative influence on smoking onset for girls. Conclusion: Management strategies for adolescent stress may be an affective target for smoking prevention programs among adolescent girls.