Mechanisms of Influences on Smoking and Drinking Behaviour among Secondary Schoolchildren

Few mechanisms of the development of drinking and smoking behaviour among schoolchildren have been investigated in separate longitudinal studies. A review by Fillmore of longitudinal studies on alcohol consumption shows the limited approach in each survey, but the surveys together contain many approaches. In most longitudinal studies on tobacco consumption, only one social scientific mechanism is under investigation; one large study also researches epidemiological aspects. When only one mechanism is investigated, the interconnectedness of different mechanisms cannot be analysed. Furthermore, if one assumes that a theory about behaviour in a certain period of time should be valid and complete, it is methodologically more interesting to study more than one mechanism. When several mechanisms are investigated, it can be studied under which conditions a mechanism is valid, and in particular if mechanisms are complementary or competitive. We developed our approach from known mechanisms and new ideas.