The Relationship between Smoker Role Models and Intentions to Smoke among Adolescents

The study examines how adolescents’ perceptions of exposure to smoker role models relate to their intentions to smoke, both directly, and indirectly through attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioural control. The data is based on a national representative sample of 15-year-olds (n=1670) in Norway. Path analysis indicates that perceptions of model smoking are related to adolescents’ intention to smoke, and that this relationship is partly mediated by attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control regarding smoking. Programs designed for intervention should thus consider the complex relationship between model smoking and the theory of planned behaviour concepts and their effect on intention to smoke among adolescents. In addition, future intervention should take into account the current smoking status of adolescents, given the group differences found in the study.