title: Psychosocial predictors of smoking among secondary school students in Henan, China.
abstract: The objective of this study was to measure the risk factors associated with tobacco use among secondary school students in Henan, China. Self-reported questionnaires were administered to four secondary schools; 3519 students were studied including 1799 boys and 1720 girls aged 10-19. Demographic, behavioral, attitudinal/belief, knowledge and interpersonal variables were investigated. Overall, 15.1% of boys and 1.4% girls reported smoking at least occasionally. Smoking onset is most prevalent from the ages of 10-14. The smoking rate increased with age. The likelihood of tobacco use was significantly higher among those having peers, teachers or mother who smoked. Positive smoking-related attitudes among students had a significant association with their smoking status. The results suggest that effective smoking prevention interventions need to be comprehensive and implemented in the early teen years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vartiainen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology