Teens And Smoking

Teens and Smoking


Abstract


Cigarette smoking is of interest to the National Institute on Drug Abuse both

because of the public health problems associated with this form of substance

abuse and because this behavior represents a prototypic dependence process.  In

the past few years the government has made every effort to reach the masses, in

an attempt to curb the exploitation of tobbacco use, and its acceptance among

Americas Youngsters.  However, cigarette smoking among adolescents is on the

rise.


The premise that the behavior of adolescents is influenced by the behavior of

their parents is central to many considerations of health and social behavior

(Ausubel, Montemayor, & Svajiian, 1977; Bandura & Walters, 1963).  Many young

people between 10-18 years of age  experiment with smoking, smoking is a

personal choice, and usually exploratory in nature.  Typically, it takes place

in rather young people and is largely dependent on: first, the availability of

opportunity to engage in the behavior, second, having a fairly high degree of

curiosity about the effects of the behavior; third, in finding it a way of

expressing either conformity to the behavior or others (such as parents, older

siblings or peers), forth, as in "Miller and Dollar's" explanation of

Observational Learning, The Copying behavior effect.


This research is to examine the effects of parental smoking (behavior), has, on

the decision of teens to smoke cigarettes.  Due to prior studies using global

measures that may or may not include South Eastern North Carolina.  The

Fayetteville/Fort Bragg area was chosen for this study to pinpoint  the effects

in this particular locale.  Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base have a very

diverse socieo-economic and culturally diverse population, which will have a

positive effect on randomness of sample selection. With this association in

mind, this researcher is interested in knowing if there is a relationship of

Parental influence on Teen Smoking within this Military Community.


 Introduction


     The prevalence of cigarette smoking among young teenagers is a growing

problem in the United States, many young people between the ages of 10-18 are

experimenting with tobacco.  During the 1040's and 50's smoking was popular and

socially acceptable.  Movie stars, sports heroes, and celebrities appeared in

cigarette advertisements that promoted and heavily influenced teens.  Influence

also came from Television and other media sources.  The desires to be accepted

and to feel grown up are among the most common reasons to start smoking.  Yet,

even though teenagers sometimes smoke to gain independence, and to be part of

the crowd parental influence plays the strongest role as to whether or their

children will smoke, Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), 1991.

Children are exposed to and influenced by the parents, siblings, and the media

long before peer pressure will become a factor. Mothers should not smoke during

pregnancy, nicotine, which crosses the placental barrier, may affect the female

fetus during an important period of development so as to predispose the brain

to the addictive influence of nicotine.  Prenatal exposure to smoking has

previously been linked with impairments in memory, learning, cognition, and

perception in the growing child. (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 1995)

Subsequent follow-up after 12 years suggest that regardless of the amount or

duration of current or past maternal smoking, the strongest correlation between

maternal smoking and a daughter's smoking occurred when the mother smoked

during pregnancy.  NIDA also reported that of 192 mothers and their first born

adolescents with a mean age of 12 1/2, the analysis revealed that 26.6% of the

girls whose mother smoked while pregnant had smoked in the past year.


The 1991 smoking prevalence estimate of 25.7% is virtually no different from the

previous year's estimate of 25.5%.  If current trends persist, we will not meet

one of the nation's health objectives, particularly a smoking prevalence of no

more 
This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!









Subscribe to Academic Library
When you subscribe to the Academic Library, you get 24-hour access to the online database containing full-text articles written by thousands of scholarly students. For only $8.95 per month, you receive unlimited monthly access to view and download all of our 40,000 articles available online. That is less than the price of one textbook!
This price includes:

24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week unlimited access on any computer with Internet access
Complete access to all 40,000 articles, essays, and research papers
Ability to view and download virtually unlimited number of documents
Ability to browse through perfectly arranged catalog of articles
Superior search and relevancy ranking techniques using Google SiteSearch and our local search engine
Instant access to the online database after registration


You can pay by credit card, checking account. You get instant access after registration:


You will be billed $ 8.95 every 30 days (recurring billing) starting on the day you subscribe.

Your credit card will automatically be renewed for your convenience until you cancel.




If you are already registered, please click here to login.