Abstract
Purpose
Consistent evidence has shown that one of the most significant influences on adolescent
smoking is peer influence. There is considerable variation, however, in how peer influence
is measured. This study constructs social network influence and selection variables
from egocentric and sociometric data to compare their associations with smoking, with
considerations of perceived smoking norms and adolescent popularity.
Methods
Longitudinal data were collected in the 9th and 10th grades in October 2006 and 2007
from predominantly Hispanic/Latino adolescents in seven Southern California schools;
among these adolescents, 1,950 completed surveys at both waves. Both cross-sectional
(separately for 9th and 10th graders) and longitudinal models were estimated.
Results
An egocentric measure of perceived friend smoking was strongly and consistently associated
with individual smoking (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] ≈ 1.80, p < .001), whereas its sociometric counterpart of friend self-report smoking was only
associated with smoking in the 9th-grade cross-sectional models (e.g., AOR = 1.56,
p < .001) and rarely in longitudinal models. Popularity, measured by proportion of
nominations received by class size, was associated with smoking and becoming a smoker
(AOR = 1.67, p < .001), whereas perceived norms were not, in longitudinal models. Friend selection
was also associated with becoming a smoker (AOR = 1.32, p = .05).
Conclusions
This study illustrates the utility of egocentric data for understanding peer influence
and underscores the importance of perceptions and popularity as mechanisms that influence
adolescent smoking.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 06, 2012
Accepted:
June 26,
2012
Received:
December 13,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
