Do Adolescent Peer Smoking Networks Matter for Adults' Smoking Behavior?

Adolescent peers have been shown play an influential role in the initiation of smoking during adolescence. However, there has been limited literature examining whether adolescent peer smoking networks are associated with longer term patterns of smoking. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine whether age-based trajectories of daily smoking from adolescence to young adulthood are associated with adolescent peer smoking networks and how these associations differ by gender. Findings using multilevel growth curve models indicate that individuals who have more friends who smoke during adolescence are more likely to be daily smokers. This relationship stays consistent as individuals age. Further analysis shows that these results differ by gender, whereby adolescent peer smoking networks are more strongly associated with smoking in women than men. These findings suggest that adolescent peer smoking networks can have lasting impacts on regular smoking into adulthood.Master of Art