Social network positions and smoking experimentation among Chinese adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the relationship between peer social network positions and smoking experimentation among Chinese adolescents.


METHODS
Self-administered questionnaires were administered to 1040 adolescents in grades 6, 8, and 10. Paired-friendship linkages were used to assign participants into 3 mutually exclusive social network positions.


RESULTS
Overall isolates were more likely to have experimented with cigarettes than were group members or liaisons. However, among male 10th graders, more group members or liaisons had smoked than isolates.


CONCLUSIONS
Smoking experimentation differs by social position, particularly among older adolescents. The association of social position with smoking experimentation could not be explained completely by traditional peer-related variables.
Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Xiaoyi
X
Fang
Xiaoming
X
Li
Bonita
B
Stanton
Qi
Q
Dong
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D012944:Social Support