LOS ANGELES, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A California study finds popular kids and loners are more likely than other middle school students to smoke.
Researchers at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine surveyed 1,846 students at 16 middle schools when they were in sixth grade and again in seventh grade. They classified students as smokers if they had ever smoked a cigarette, even one puff, and measured popularity by the number of times a student was named as a friend by others.
"In the year between the two surveys, we found that the popular students became more susceptible to smoking than their peers and were more likely to actually smoke than their peers," said Thomas Valente, an associate professor of preventive medicine.
Valente said in all ethnic groups and both genders the popular children were more likely to be smokers, but he said the association was strongest for non-white boys.
The researchers said a small minority of students had smoked. They suggested their research can be used to develop more effective smoking prevention programs.
