Prototype perception and smoking: Are negative or positive social images more important in adolescence?

It is suggested that a more profound understanding of cigarette smoking among adolescents should include the social images they have of smokers. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the role of smoker prototypes in adolescents' smoking status and to compare the role of negative and positive smoker images. Data were collected from high school students in two counties of the Southern Plain Region of Hungary (N = 548; ages between 14 and 21 years). The self-administered questionnaires contained items on sociodemographics, smoking occurrence, and smoker prototypes. Factor analysis revealed three smoker prototypes: a negative prototype (e.g., dull, childish), a positive social appearance prototype (e.g., cool, popular), and a positive individual competence prototype (such as smart, independent) all with satisfactory reliability. Odds ratios suggest that the role of the negative prototypes for nonsmokers is greater than the role of positive prototypes for smokers. For boys, positive individual competence prototype also seems to be important. Health promotion programs should focus on fostering negative social images in prevention.