A Structural Equation Model of Social Influences and Exposure to Media Smoking on Adolescent Smoking

Abstract

This research examined the role of movie portrayals of smoking as well as peer, parent, and sibling smoking as predictors of intentions to smoke and smoking behavior in adolescents. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the fit of a model that proposes that identification with smokers, normative beliefs about smoking, and positive expectations about smoking are mediators of the association between social influences and smoking intentions. Our models provided a good fit for both a cross-sectional model of smoking and a model of smoking initiation. The relationship between media exposure to smoking and intentions to smoke was mediated by positive expectancies and identification as a smoker in the cross-sectional model, and by positive expectancies in baseline never smokers. Our results indicate that viewing smoking in movies is an important predictor of smoking among adolescents and that identity processes and expectancies serve as mediators of this effect.