“Do you intend to smoke?”: A test of the assumed psychological equivalence in adolescent smoker and nonsmoker intention to change smoking behaviour

Adolescent smoking research appears to assume that asking a question of intention to smoke is psychologically equivalent for smokers and nonsmokers, despite the result that the two groups differ in psychologically important ways. The aim of the paper was to clarify whether the intention to smoke for adolescent nonsmokers is psychologically equivalent to the intention for smokers. Data from a 12-month, three-wave longitudinal study on adolescent smoking in Australia were used. The results showed a model designed to predict nonsmoker intention failed to explain smoker intentions, and that a model for smokers failed in regards to nonsmokers. Further, smoking status influenced the observed relationship between intentions and later behaviour. This suggests that future research on adolescent smoking may need to ask separate questions of smokers and nonsmokers. The results also indicate that more effort is needed to establish intention as a reliable proxy for future smoking behaviour