A simulation-based research project found that peer influences and smoker popularity had more pronounced effects on high school students’ smoking than on cessation.
The Issue:
Adolescence is a critical time for smoking initiation, as well as a time for interventions to prevent smoking and encourage cessation. While longitudinal studies have been conducted on the influence of friends on teen smoking, such studies can involve prohibitive data collection efforts. These researchers used a dynamic simulation model to explore how peer influence and smoker popularity affect smoking dynamics in high school students.