Differences in risk-taking propensity across inner-city adolescent ever- and never-smokers.
Because adolescent smoking is a significant public health concern, potential value lies in understanding and identifying the psychological factors that distinguish ever- and never-smokers. To that end, we examined the relationship between risk-taking propensity as measured by the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and ever-smoking (i.e., even one puff) versus never-smoking in a sample of 125 predominantly African American high-school adolescents (M = 15.1, SD = 1.5). Results indicated that ever-smokers and never-smokers differed on risk-taking propensity; further risk-taking propensity was related to smoking status above and beyond both demographic variables and a measure of self-reported impulsive sensation seeking. We discuss these results in relation to the potential utility of a multimethod assessment approach (i.e., self-report measures and behavioral tasks) to identify adolescents' risk-taking susceptibilities and engagement in smoking and other risk-taking behaviors.
Lejuez
C W
CW
Department of Psychlogy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. clejuez@psyc.umd.edu
Aklin
Will
W
Bornovalova
Marina
M
Moolchan
Eric T
ET
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004219:District of Columbia; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012649:Self Concept; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*