Cigarette smoking as an alternative to screened drugs: Why juvenile probationers smoke more

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Abstract
While at-risk adolescents smoke at higher rates than other adolescents, nicotine is often omitted from inquiry in studies involving delinquent youth. To address this limitation, the current study used a qualitative approach to investigate the beliefs associated with cigarette smoking trends among 37 adolescent smokers enrolled in an alternative high school, who were ever or currently on probation. More than 80% of males and females believed that juvenile probation led to an increase in cigarette smoking. Most adolescents believed the reason for this increase was that nicotine is not subject to urinalysis detection by the Department of Juvenile Probation. Most adolescents in the study stated that nicotine was used as a vehicle for “self-medication/coping.” In addition, most adolescents were heavy smokers prior to probation and increased their cigarette smoking twofold while on probation. These findings are important in determining the extent to which probation may be associated with excessive cigarette use among alternative-school probationers.