Gender differences in psychological factors shaping smoking decisions of Chilean adolescents. (November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Elmore, Kristen; Delva, Jorge; Andrade, Fernando
• Is Part Of: Journal of health psychology. Volume 22:Number 13(2017)
• Page Start: 1721
• Page End: 1730
• Publication Date: 2017-11
• Subjects: adolescence -- gender -- risk factors -- smoking -- symptoms; Clinical health psychology -- Periodicals; 613.019
• DOI: 10.1177/1359105316634451
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-1053

Abstract

This study examined gender differences in how internalizing and externalizing symptoms affect adolescents' decisions about smoking in Chile, where girls smoke at some of the highest rates in the world. In multivariate logistic regression analyses with 607 adolescents, internalizing symptoms, such as depressed mood and anxiety, predicted smoking among girls more than boys, with girls who were low in internalizing symptoms being more likely to smoke than those who were high in internalizing symptoms. In Chile's high-risk context, internalizing symptoms may be indirectly protective for girls by decreasing their exposure to peer pressure and related influences that encourage cigarette use.