PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Chassin

Publications and source records attributed to L Chassin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

The natural history of cigarette smoking: predicting young-adult smoking outcomes from adolescent smoking patterns.

Assessed the magnitude of risk that adolescent cigarette smoking carries for adult smoking. Using a longitudinal, prospective design, results indicate that even infrequent experimentation in adolescence significantly raises the risk for adult smoking and that regular (at least monthly) adolescent smoking raises the risk for adult smoking by a factor of 16 compared to nonsmoking adolescents. Relative risk was also increased by an early onset of smoking and by a stable, uninterrupted course from experimentation to regular smoking. Relative risk did not significantly vary by age or sex. The continuity of smoking behavior between adolescence and adulthood supports the importance of primary prevention programs directed at adolescent populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Personality variables as mediators and moderators of family history risk for alcoholism: conceptual and methodological issues.

Recently there has been great interest in possible mediators and moderators of family history risk for alcoholism. However, previous studies have failed to employ appropriate designs and data analytic strategies to identify moderators and mediators. This article uses a large data set to illustrate such analyses. In the current data, both presumed personality risk and dispositional self-awareness were found to play moderator (rather than mediator) roles. The conceptual, methodological and data analytic implications of the mediator-moderator distinction are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Adolescent smokeless tobacco use: future research needs.

Future research needs in the area of adolescent smokeless tobacco use are addressed, based on the studies reported in this volume covering methodologic issues and substantive directions. In addition, we outline some implications for developing preventive interventions to deter smokeless tobacco use among adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

The social image of smokeless tobacco use in three different types of teenagers.

The current study used an unobtrusive methodology to describe the social image associated with smokeless tobacco use and with cigarette smoking in three "types" of teenage models--an athlete, a cowboy, and an average teenager. As in previous research, the social image associated with smokeless tobacco use was more positive than that associated with cigarette smoking, suggesting that adopting smokeless tobacco use may have perceived social image benefits for adolescent males. The image conveyed by smokeless tobacco use was similar across the three different types of adolescent. Relations between social image factors and tobacco use behavior were examined, and implications for tobacco use prevention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The changing smoking environment for middle and high school students: 1980-1983.

Cultural-historical changes in smoking prevalence and in smoking-related attitudes and beliefs were examined as part of a cohort-sequential study of 6th- to 12th-grade midwestern adolescents (N = 8681) between 1980 and 1983. Smoking prevalence decreased over the 4 years for the younger cohorts and remained unchanged for high school students. Paradoxically, however, some specific beliefs and attitudes about smoking (including health beliefs) became less negative with time. It is suggested that continuing negative social beliefs about smoking are supporting declines in smoking prevalence among younger cohorts. Implications of these cultural-historical changes for smoking behavior and smoking control are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Self-labeling by educably mentally retarded high school students in their mainstream and special education classes.

Educably mentally retarded (EMR) students and nonhandicapped students from their mainstream classes completed semantic differential ratings of a stereotypic popular teen-ager, juvenile delinquent, and special education student. Subjects also rated their global self-concepts and situation-specific self-concepts within the mainstream and the special class settings. Ratings were done at the beginning (Time 1) and the end (Time 2) of a semester. Results showed that mainstream classes did not "de-label" EMR students. Within the mainstream class, the number of EMR students who saw themselves as similar to a special education student significantly increased over time. Moreover, at Time 2, EMR students were more likely to think of themselves as similar to a special education student in their mainstream class than in their special education class. However, EMR subjects' global self-concepts did not change. Implications for mainstreaming are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Psychosocial correlates of adolescent smokeless tobacco use.

The current study investigated psychosocial correlates of adolescent smokeless tobacco use. Subjects viewed smokeless tobacco use as less of a health danger than smoking and as more socially acceptable. The social image associated with smokeless tobacco use was an ambivalent one that in some ways matched the masculine, athletic image features in advertising. Subjects' beliefs about the health consequences of smokeless tobacco use, its social acceptability, and its associated social image related to current tobacco use and (among nonusers) to intentions to use tobacco in the future.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Self-image and social-image factors in adolescent alcohol use.

To investigate the social image of adolescent drinking, high-school students were asked to rate slides of drinking and nondrinking peer models. The image was ambivalent, with both social liabilities and possible social benefits (including toughness and precocity). This image was then related to adolescent drinking behavior. It was hypothesized that adolescents might be more likely to drink if their self-concepts were consistent with a drinking image (consistency theory), if their ideal self-concepts were consistent with a drinking image (self-enhancement) or if their friends admired a drinking image (impression management). Analyses of subjects' current drinking behavior supported both the consistency and self-enhancement hypotheses. Moreover, boys' intentions to drink in the future were related to consistency and impression-management variables (controlling for current drinking). Girls' intentions were not related to any of these self-image and social-image factors. Implications for adolescent alcohol use and misuse are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Cognitive and social influence factors in adolescent smoking cessation.

Using a longitudinal design, the current study investigated the roles of smoking-related beliefs, and parent and peer psychosocial factors as antecedents and consequences of adolescent smoking cessation. Results indicated that adolescents who would later quit smoking were different from those who continued to smoke even prior to the transition. For younger subjects, cessation was related mainly to parental influences (e.g., parental support and attitudes towards smoking). Older adolescents responded primarily to peer influences in choosing to quit. While psychosocial factors served as antecedents to cessation, results also indicated that the process of quitting itself led to changes in the adolescents' social environment that further reinforced smoking cessation (e.g., fewer friends who smoked, less positive peer attitudes towards smoking). Thus, the process of smoking cessation among adolescents may be bidirectional, with psychosocial factors influencing the decision to quit and, in turn, being influenced by such a decision.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Predictors of adolescents' intentions to smoke: age, sex, race, and regional differences.

The present study investigated the predictors of smoking intentions among subgroups of adolescent nonsmokers, examining age, sex, ethnic, and regional differences. Both proximal factors specific to smoking and more general, distal factors were successful predictors of intentions to smoke. The similarities in prediction outweighed the differences between demographic subgroups. There were three demographic differences: (1) peer and family smoking levels were more important in predicting intentions for girls than boys; (2) smoking initiation was more of a way of adopting deviant or problem behavior for midwestern than for southwestern subjects; (3) familial smoking models were more related to the intentions of midwestern than southwestern subjects. The theoretical significance of these results and their practical implications for smoking prevention are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Age differences in children's attributions for deviant behaviors.

Previous research has described age-related changes in children's attributions for deviant behaviors. This research has suggested that children begin to develop a social psychiatric theory of deviant behavior by the end of the elementary school years. The current study extended this line of investigation to examine attributions for deviance by early and middle adolescents. Results suggested that adolescents view deviant behavior as caused not only by social and environmental factors but also by nonrational internal psychological states.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Social image factors as motivators of smoking initiation in early and middle adolescence.

The social image of the smoker may be particularly important for the process of adolescent smoking initiation. With that in mind, the present study had 2 goals: (1) to assess the social image of cigarette smoking among early and middle nonsmoking adolescents, and (2) to determine whether that social image serves to motivate smoking initiation. Based on considerations of self-esteem and susceptibility to social influence, social image factors were predicted to be related to intentions to smoke more for early adolescents and for girls. Results indicated that the social image of both male and female smokers was an ambivalent one for both early and middle adolescents. Smoking models were rated as having many undesirable qualities, but also several social assets. In terms of the relationship of the social image to smoking intentions, early adolescent girls had intentions that were best predicted by the perceived negative qualities of smoking. For middle adolescents, smoking intentions were related to the positive social assets of smoking, especially interest in the opposite sex. These results suggest that prevention strategies for early adolescent girls focus on the negative results of smoking. On the other hand, strategies for middle adolescents should either attack the positive image of the smoker or provide alternative means of self-image improvement.

Adolescent↗