Use of inoculation to promote resistance to smoking initiation among adolescents

This investigation examined the effectiveness of inoculation to promote resistance to smoking initiation among young adolescents. Inoculation and reinforcement videos were administered to 1,047 adolescents in a midwestern city. The overall effectiveness of inoculation was assessed in February, nearly 19 weeks following the administration of the inoculation pretreatments and 10 weeks after administration of reinforcement materials, and again during May, approximately 33 weeks following the administration of the inoculation pretreatments and 25 weeks after administration of the reinforcement materials. The pattern of results revealed that inoculation promotes resistance to smoking onset, but only among adolescents of low self‐esteem, precisely those most at risk to smoking initiation in the first place. Among this group, inoculation contributed to a greater chance of overtly resisting smoking, less positive attitudes toward smoking, and subsequently to less likelihood of smoking.