Predictors of cigarette use among South African adolescents

This study assessed the interrelation among domains of ethnic factors; the individual's sense of well-being; personality, attitudes, and behaviors; sibling and peer smoking; and adolescent smoking behavior. The sample consisted of 1,468 South African adolescents selected from 4 ethnic groups self-identified as defined by current South African usage: Black (mainly Zulu and Xhosa), Indian, White, and Colored (mixed ancestry). In accordance with family interactional theory, there was a sequence of patterning from ethnic factors and the individual's sense of well-being to adolescent personality, attitudes, and behaviors and models of smoking. All of the 4 domains in the model also had a direct effect on adolescent smoking behavior. The findings suggest 4 possible targets of therapeutic or preventive intervention with regard to adolescent smoking: ethnic factors; the individual's sense of well-being; personality, attitudes, and behaviors; and smoking within the peer group.