Social Psychological Contributions to the Understanding and Prevention of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking

The authors describe how social psychological theory and research have enabled us to better understand the processes underlying adolescent smoking adoption and to devise more effective intervention programs to deter adolescent smoking.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the contributions of basic theory and research in social psychology to our understanding of an important public health problem - adolescent cigarette smoking -and to smoking prevention. The authors describe how social psychological theory and research have enabled us to better understand the processes underlying adolescent smoking adoption and to devise more effective intervention programs to deter adolescent smoking.