Predicting the Urge to Smoke in a Population-Based Sample of Adolescent Smokers

Abstract

Little is known about the relationship between smoking urges and situations in adolescence, although adolescent smoking is specifically bound to characteristics, such as peer group situations. Therefore, we performed ordinal regression analyses to predict this situational urge to smoke by smoking-related variables. A sample of N = 1,093 adolescents in North-Eastern Germany was used in 2005/2006. High parameter values on all predictors had the highest odds for situational urge followed by moderate and low parameter values. Implications/limitations are described.

RÉSUMÉ

Prévisions du besoin de fumer dans un échantillon de jeunes fumeurs basé sur la population

Jusqu’à présent, on sait peu de choses sur l’association entre le besoin de fumer et les situations spécifiques à la jeunesse, bien que le comportement tabagique des jeunes soit lié à des situations spécifiques telles que l’appartenance à un groupe de jeunes du même âge. C’est pourquoi nous avons examiné à travers une analyse de régression ordinale quelles sont les variables liées à la consommation de tabac qui prédisent ce besoin de fumer à caractère situatif. Un échantillon de n = 1093 élèves a été interrogé pendant le semestre scolaire 2005/6 dans le nord-est de l’Allemagne. Des valeurs supérieures sur toutes les variables indépendantes sont associées à des valeurs supérieures sur toutes les variables dépendantes. Les implications et limitations sont décrites. L’étude a été financée par le ministère fédéral de l’Education et de la recherche et par le ministère des Affaires sociales de Mecklembourg-Poméranie occidentale.

Vorhersage des Rauchverlangens in einer bevölkerungsbasierten Stichprobe jugendlicher Raucher

Bisher ist wenig bekannt über die Assoziation zwischen Rauchverlangen und Situationen, obwohl das Rauchverhalten in der Jugend an spezifische Situationen wie die, in einer Gleichaltrigengruppe zu sein, gekoppelt ist. Daher haben wir untersucht, welche Variablen (Dauer des Rauchens, Anzahl der Zigaretten pro Tag oder Gelegenheit, Aufhörversuch und Anzahl) dieses situative Rauchverlangen vorhersagen. Eine bevölkerungsbasierte Stichprobe von n = 1093 Schülern wurde im Schulhalbjahr 2005/6 in einer Querschnittsstudie untersucht. Höhere Werte auf allen unabhängigen Variablen sind assoziiert mit höheren Werten auf allen abhängigen Variablen. Dies trifft sowohl für die Gesamtskala als auch für die Subskalen zu.

RESUMEN

Prognosis relativa al deseo de fumar en jóvenes fumadores en base a una muestra de la población

Hasta ahora poco se sabe sobre la asociación entre el deseo de fumar y las situaciones de los jóvenes, pese a que en la juventud el deseo de fumar está ligado a situaciones específicas, tales como encontrarse en un grupo de la misma edad. Por esta razón hemos investigado por medio de un análisis ordinal de regresión qué variables asociadas al fumar predicen este deseo situativo de fumar. Escolares constituyentes de una prueba aleatoria n = 1093 han sido encuestados en el año escolar 2005/06 en el nordeste de Alemania. Valores mayores en todas las variables independientes están asociados con valores mayores en todas las variantes dependientes. Se describen implicaciones / limitaciones. El estudio ha sido patrocinado por el Ministerio Federal de Educación e Investigación y por el Ministerio de Asuntos Sociales del Estado Federado de Mecklemburgo-Pomerania Occidental.

Keywords :

• urge to smoke
• adolescence
• ordinal regression

THE AUTHORS

Deniz Tagmat is a psychologist. After her university degree in 2004, she started to work in various scientific areas. From 2005 to 2006, she along with J. Wolff conducted a study comprising 2,520 participants to prevent smoking in adolescents (directed by Dr. J. R. Thyrian). She is also a certified smokefree trainer. Her main fields of interest are the development, optimization, and evaluation of an online-based computerized expert system (“stopp.net”) to prevent smoking in adolescents, nicotine dependence and the urge to smoke in adolescents, and measurement of development and validation. She developed a situational urge to smoke scale (SUSS).

Judith Wolff is a psychologist. After her university degree in psychology, she started to work in scientific areas in 2001. From 2005 to 2006, she along with D. Tagmat conducted a study comprising 2,520 participants to prevent smoking in adolescents (directed by Dr. J. R. Thyrian). Her main fields of interest are the development of an online-based computerized expert system (“stopp.net”) to prevent smoking and nicotine dependency in adolescents.

Jeannette Rüge is a psychologist. After her university degree, she started to work in scientific areas in 2004. Her main fields of interest are the development of an intervention program with regard to smoking reduction in adults using a computerized expert system. She administrated a population-based study including assortment, on-the-job, and consecutive training of an interviewer team. Besides, she investigated the association between the partners’ smoking status and the smokers’ intention to quit.

Prof. (Dr.) U. John had his professional education as a psychologist. He is the director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald. Since 1979, addiction research has been his main working area. From 1986 to 1997 he headed the research group for substance abuse and dependence (based on grants) at the Medical University of Lübeck, when it was transferred in part to Greifswald. The research that Ulrich John was responsible has been supported with grants, which amounted to more than 7 million Euro. In 2002 his research on tobacco attributable mortality and smoking prevention was honored with the German Medical Association of Smoking and Health research award.

Dr. Jochen René Thyrian is a psychologist. After gathering clinical experience as a neuropsychologist, he in 2000 started to work in scientific areas and received his Ph.D. in 2005 on “Behavior Change in Risky Drinking Smokers” (Thyrian, 2005). His main field of interests are the development of health and its moderating factors from the pre- and perinatal period to adolescence, the prevention of unhealthy behaviors and their consequences in schools, and the population impact and associated factors of prevention. He is the study coordinator of the Survey of Neonates in Pomerania (SNiP), a birth cohort study of more than 5,000 newborns. He has received several awards for his works from national and international organizations.