Stress and Coping as Determinants of Adolescent Smoking Behavior¹

Abstract

Relationships between perceived stress, coping, and smoking behavior were examined both cross‐sectionally and prospectively in a large sample of English adolescents recruited from secondary schools in East Sussex. Significant cross‐sectional and prospective associations are reported between smoking behavior and perceived stress, “cathartic” coping, and perception of smoking as a coping resource. The hypothesis that female adolescents smoke more than do males because they perceive more stress in their lives and cope with it differently was not supported.