title: Self-Identification of smoking status in a middle school population: assessing smoking behaviors through students' personal perceptions.
abstract: This study investigates correlates of smoking behaviors among 290 students in a Mississippi Delta middle school and how these adolescents identify their own smoking behaviors. Self-identified "regular smokers" were more socially exposed to smoking, and reported more indications of habitual smoking than "non-smokers," "once in a while smokers" and "ex-smokers." These differences could lead to intervention studies that, in addition to traditionally categorized regular smokers, recruit adolescent smokers who do not identify themselves as regular smokers, but who nevertheless exhibit behaviors characteristic of regular smokers.
authors.affiliation: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi 39216-4505, USA. muilenburg@prevmed.umsmed.edu
authors.forename: Jessica Legge
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Muilenburg
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Connie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Kohler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044382:Population Groups; D012649:Self Concept; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*