Never smokers, triers and current smokers: three distinct target groups for school-based antismoking programs.

Previous research on adolescent smoking has shown that past smoking experience is the best predictor of smoking onset during the school year. The present study utilized a social learning framework to test the hypothesis that adolescents who have tried smoking in the past (Triers) differ from those who have never smoked on several factors that theoretically place them at higher risk for smoking re-onset. In October 1980, 2339 seventh- and eighth-grade students in Eastern Massachusetts and Northern California were surveyed in conjunction with a school-based smoking prevention program. Never Smokers comprised 69% of the sample, Triers 7.9%, and Smokers 23.1%. As hypothesized, relative to Never Smokers, Triers were significantly more likely to have a predominantly smoking peer referent group, a best friend who smoked, siblings and/or parents who smoked, were more likely to experience peer pressure to smoke, more likely to believe that smoking would make them more relaxed, and were more rebellious. Girl Triers were also more likely to report that cigarette ads made them want to smoke. Triers did not differ significantly from Never Smokers in the perception of the harmfulness of smoking. Triers were less likely than Current Smokers to report that the majority of their friends, the best friend, and siblings (girls) smoked, less likely to believe that smoking would help them relax, and more likely to believe that smoking was harmful and would make their parents angry. Triers and Current Smokers did not differ significantly in their normative expectations about smoking. Implications of these findings for the design of school-based smoking prevention programs are discussed.