A Comparative Study of Smoking in American and Japanese Adolescents: Self, Social Influences, and Health Beliefs

Adolescent health-endangering behaviors are often explained in relation to psychosocial factors. The present study examined how differing psychosocial factors affect smoking by comparing American and Japanese adolescents. Participants in this study were 844 American (374 boys, 401 girls, and 69 undefined) and 734 Japanese (426 boys, 297 girls, and 11 undefined) students from the 7th to 12th grade. The average age of the American sample was 15.24 years old (SD = 2.05); the average age of the Japanese sample was 15.78 (SD = 1.16). Multiple regression analysis with a moderation analysis was conducted to examine the effects of culture on smoking status. A significant moderation effect of culture was found for the perceived prevalence of smoking among peers—perceived prevalence predicted smoking in the past month for Japanese adolescents but not for Americans. The results suggest that Japanese adolescents’ smoking behavior is influenced by the collectivistic nature of their culture.