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Adolescents' Cognitive Appraisals of Cigarette Smoking: An Application of the Protection Motivation Theory 1
Author(s) -
Greening Leilani
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1997.tb01635.x
Subject(s) - psychology , logistic regression , vulnerability (computing) , intervention (counseling) , cognition , cigarette smoking , context (archaeology) , cognitive vulnerability , clinical psychology , social psychology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , paleontology , depressive symptoms , computer security , computer science , biology
High‐school students ( N = 690) provided their cognitive appraisals of protection motivation theory (PMT; Prentice‐Dunn & Rogers, 1986) factors in the context of cigarette smoking. A logistic regression analysis revealed that PMT predicted adolescents' current smoking behavior. Cognitions, including greater personal vulnerability to smoking‐related diseases, minimizing the severity of the consequences of smoking, perceiving adolescent male smokers to be popular and mature, and perceiving limited health benefits for not smoking were found to be significant predictors of current smoking behavior. Intending to quit smoking in the near future was related to smoking occasionally, as opposed to regularly, and to perceiving the long‐term risks of smoking to be severe. Possible applications for intervention programs are discussed.