Consumo de tabaco entre estudiantes de enseñanza media. I. Descripción del hábito tabáquico y de factores asociados

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the characteristics involved in the consume of tabacco in a group of young students, as well as the different variables considered relevant as explanative factors. It consists of a transversal study, where a self-administered survey is applied to all junior high school students in the Region of Magallanes (n=1,386). The results showed that 74.6% has smoken at least once in their lives. On a general level, males showed a stronger tendency to smoke than females, a fact specially notorious in the regular smokers group. Among the variables frecuently and significatively associated with smoking are: having thought about droppinp out of school, the existence of people nearby who smoke (specially friends, and in a smaller degree the mother), other risk-related conducts, some psychosocial factors (specially the number of vital events ocurred and the level of anxious-depressive symptomatology), beliefs about the potential danger caused by this habit, and the perception of self control over the smoking habit. A differential profile for males and females in found.