Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. XII. Smoking behaviour and its determinants in 12-18-year-old subjects.

The cross-sectional study of 1980 for atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents aimed at a wide coverage of the relevant relationships of the smoking behaviour to socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. The initiation and establishment of the smoking habits were primarily viewed as a function of the youngsters' main socializing agents: the peer group and the family. A subpopulation comprising 1,790 children and adolescents aged 12, 15 and 18 years of the total sample was included in the study on smoking behaviour. The information on smoking habits was collected in connection with the medical examination in a solitary room where the youngsters could respond undisturbed. Data on the children's families were obtained by means of a general questionnaire filled out by the parents. The prevalence of daily smoking was 1% in the 12-year-old, 10% in the 15-year-old, and 30% in the 18-year-old subjects. The best friend's behaviour was the best predictor of an adolescent's smoking behaviour, although the family had retained its role as an important model as regards the learning of smoking behaviour. Quitting school turned out to be a major event leading to an increased risk of becoming a habitual smoker. No clear associations between socioeconomic status of the family and daily smoking were found, except that farmers' children had generally lower rates of daily smoking than children from other socioeconomic groups. First contacts with tobacco formed part of a normal behaviour pattern at a certain age, and this experimentation was unrelated to a later regular habit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)