The social meaning of smoking for boys in a residential school for children with emotional and behavioural disorders

Abstract

IN 1990, a one-year intervention programme was begun in a residential school for boys with emotional and behavioural disorders with the aims of negotiating changes in the school's lax policy on smoking, and reducing the smoking rates amongst the boys, 93 per cent of whom were regular smokers. As part of this programme, a sample of 34 boys aged 12 to 15 years were interviewed on a one-to-one basis using a structured questionnaire to find out about smoking prevalence at school and at home. They were asked what, if anything, would tempt them to reduce or give up their habit. The boys smoked between five and 30 cigarettes per day between Monday and Friday at school, and between five and 40 cigarettes per day at the weekend at home. With one exception, all the boys smoked more cigarettes during the weekend than they did during the week. Three-quarters of the boys said that they had tried to give up smoking, and that a fitness programme was the only thing which would tempt them to try again. This study suggests the importance of the social meaning of smoking for children, and reinforces the idea, established in other research, of the strong link between smoking and identification with peer groups and peer lifestyles.