South Korean Adolescents' Intention to Smoke

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine associations between intention to smoke, and 3 constructs of the Theory of Planed Behavior, including attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control related to smoking among adolescents in South Korea. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional correlational design. The survey was conducted on 13- to 15-year-old adolescents (N = 740) in Seoul, South Korea. Multilevel modeling was conducted to analyze the data. RESULTS: After adjusting for socio-demographic and economic factors, attitude toward smoking, subjective norm about smoking, and perceived behavioral control about smoking were independent statistically significant predictors of in tention to smoke. When all 3 were considered together, attitude toward smoking and perceived behavioral control remained statistically significant, but subjective norm about smoking did not. The number of licensed tobacco retailers also predicted intention to smoke. CONCLUSIONS: Attitude, perceived behavioral control, and tobacco retailers around schools need to be considered when developing tobacco prevention and control programs and policies for adolescents.