[Analysis of factors associated with adolescent smoking by a follow-up survey]

One hundred and seventy-four second year senior high school students (106 males and 68 females) participated in a questionnaire survey to analyze factors associated with smoking. The questionnaire consisted of variables on family smoking, beliefs regarding smoking, knowledge about the dangers of smoking, etc. Smoking behavior about three and a half year later, when the subjects had become adults (twenty years old), was then investigated. The relationships between their behavior and the variables obtained in the earlier research were analyzed in detail. The results were as follows: 1) Family smoking was related to smoking behavior at the stage of second year of senior high school for males and to smoking onset after second year of senior high school for females. 2) Self-prediction regarding future smoking was related to both smoking behavior during senior high school and smoking onset in the future. Almost all beliefs regarding smoking was related to smoking behavior at the second year of senior high school, however, these beliefs were not effective in predicting future behavioral change. 3) Knowledge about the dangers of smoking was related to neither the smoking behavior at the stage of senior high school nor behavioral change in the future.