Adolescent smoking intentions: gender differences in peer context.

Despite widespread interest in adolescent smoking behavior, little research has been directed to the social dynamics of adolescent smoking. In this paper, smoking intentions and peer group influences among a sample of 1,689 Grade 8 students from southern Ontario were analyzed to ascertain possible gender-specific correlates in adolescent smoking intentions. The peer environment was found to be a crucial factor in adolescent smoking behavior. Particularly striking for adolescent girls was the firmness of their expressed intentions to continue to smoke quite early in their smoking lives.