Cross-Cultural Study of Beliefs About Smoking Among Teenaged Females1

This study was designed to identify beliefs associated with smoking behavior in three different ethnic groups of teenaged females. The Neuman Systems Model provided the conceptual frame-work, and the Theory of Planned Behavior provided the basis for the development of the research instrument. Participants included 141 African American, 146 Puerto Rican, and 143 non-Hispanic White females, ages 13 to 19. Logistic regression analyses identified beliefs that were significantly related to smoking behavior in each ethnic group. Beliefs related to attitudes about smoking and perceived social pressure regarding smoking differed among the three ethnic groups. The findings suggest that specific beliefs distinguish between smokers and nonsmokers and that some beliefs differ by ethnicity. More teenagers are smoking today than at any time since the 1970s. The 1995 Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that overall, 35 % of teenagers in Grades 9 through 12 smoke cigarettes, an increase from the 28 % who smoked in 1991 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1996). The cur-rent 25 % overall smoking prevalence among adults is 10 % lower than the prevalence among teens. In addition, data from the 1992 Monitoring th