ABSTRACT
This chapter considers several major sources of influence on adolescent smoking behavior. It explains the influence of parenting styles on the social skills and capacity of children to interact successfully with their peers. The chapter presents both quantitative and behavioural data on adolescents' own and peer group smoking behaviour, from both the Sussex and the London studies. It examines the culture of specific schools in order to determine whether there are institutional influences and beyond those of parents and peers. By contrast, the neglected children showed few problems in social adjustment. The chapter explores both risk-taking and risk-aversive identities through interviews to assess the extent to which they had an effect on smoking behaviour, and how they might influence other aspects of adolescent development. A change of schools is recognised by girls as an opportunity to choose new behaviours, new friends and possibly a new social identity.
