Adolescents and tobacco use: systematic review of qualitative research methodologies and partial synthesis of findings.

After a brief overview of adolescent tobacco control, methodological features and content areas of 78 qualitative studies of adolescent smoking published in English prior to September 2002 were assessed. Narrative syntheses of three content areas - peer influences, access/sales issues, and dependence/addiction - were also undertaken. Many studies failed to provide sufficient sampling and subject characterization details and more effort was required to demonstrate data validity and reliability. Syntheses of the content areas revealed important common themes. Relationships to quantitative research were informative and suggested other research questions. The review highlights the heuristic value of qualitative research on adolescent smoking. Funding was provided by The Cancer Council New South Wales and NSW Health/Hunter Medical Research Institute.