Predicting Greek adolescents' intentions to smoke: a focus on normative processes.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effects of normative influences on adolescent smoking in Greece, a country with weak social norms against smoking and relatively ineffective tobacco control policies.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey methodology was employed, and a representative sample of Greek high school students was recruited (N = 1,920, M age = 14 years).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Normative beliefs, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, self-esteem, and intentions to smoke.

RESULTS

Multiple-regression and mediation analyses were conducted. The effects of public smoking on intentions to smoke were mediated by beliefs of perceived prevalence of smoking among peers, subjective norms, and situational temptations. Self-esteem significantly moderated the effects of subjective norms on intentions to smoke.

CONCLUSIONS

Prosmoking norms in one's environment become internalized into biased normative beliefs about smoking, and increase susceptibility to smoke under social pressure. The effect of subjective norms on intentions to smoke was stronger among adolescents with low self-esteem, suggesting that self-esteem may act as a vulnerability factor in the process of smoking initiation.