Sensation Seeking and Adolescent Cigarette Smoking: Examining Multiple Pathways in Cross-Sectional Data

This study applies Jessor and Jessor’s problem behavior theory to examine factors predicting adolescent smoking behavior both directly and indirectly. Measures include adolescent smoking and other psychosocial variables including sensation seeking, peer smoking behavior, parental monitoring, and delinquent behaviors. Middle school students (N = 260) from two schools in the northeast United States participated in the study. The results indicate that sensation seeking and parental monitoring contribute to adolescent smoking indirectly, through the mediation of peer smoking behavior and engagement in delinquent behaviors. Peer smoking behavior and delinquent behaviors predict adolescent smoking directly. Implications of these findings are discussed.