Developmental transitions: linking human development with tobacco prevention research.

We consider the impact of developmental transitions on the emergence of unhealthy behavioral patterns during adolescence. Although prevention efforts and studies of tobacco use have incorporated aspects of adolescent development, continued efforts to examine the nature of individual differences in developmental experiences should prove useful for improving prevention efforts. This paper briefly describes factors of developmental transitions that have been associated with changes in health-compromising behaviors. Ultimate success in prevention requires an understanding of when in the life course prevention efforts will be most effective, considering that youth face multiple transitions and experience them differently.