| Abstract: | Conformity to group pressure is widely considered a prime factor in experimentation with cigarettes. An alternative assumption is that the temptation to smoke arises out of the belief that cigarettes are instrumental in enhancing a sense of maturity, affiliation, and a reputation for autonomy. The present research assessed the relative saliency for both motive fulfillment and social pressure hypotheses in temptation dynamics and traced the causal influence of these factors on future expectations to smoke. Some 5,600 sixth, eighth and tenth graders rated the temptation value of four situations for smoking, varied along two dimensions: the composition of the group and the presence or absence of reasons that might minimize personal responsibility for smoking. Solitary smoking was a fifth situation. Between-group analyses confirmed that smoking history of the individual (e.g., nonsmokers), grade level, and type of tempting situation all exerted a significant impact on perceived peer pressure, on temptation level, and on behavioral expectancy to smoke. However, beliefs about the instrumentality of cigarettes for reducing tension and enhancing a reputation for maturity and autonomy overshadowed peer pressure as causal agents for both temptation level and expectations. Moreover, instrumental beliefs were differentially salient in this temptation/expectancy dynamic, depending on the individual's smoking history. Finally, the causal saliency of instrumental beliefs differed, depending on whether temptation arose in solitary or group situations. The implications of these findings for adolescent smoking prevention and cessation strategies were considered. |
