Teenagers' Smoking Trajectories from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood

Yen-hsin Alice Cheng, Pennsylvania State University

This study seeks to examine factors on both individual- and community-levels that influence adolescent smoking trajectories (i.e., number of cigarettes smoked). Smoking trajectory has often been neglected in teen tobacco use research. Given that adolescents can have very different smoking histories, a close investigation of this issue can have significant implications for intervention efforts. This study utilizes data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Then, drawing on social control, social learning, and social disorganization theories, three research hypotheses are tested by using multilevel nonlinear growth curve method to unravel the crucial factors that affect adolescent smoking trajectory. Adolescents who are more detached from family and school are expected to be persistent smokers. Those who have parents and friends smoking and those who live in more socially disorganized neighborhoods are expected to be at higher risk of having continuous smoking behaviors as well.