Adolescent Cigarette Smoking as Compensatory Behavior.

The extent to which smokers as compared to non-smokers recognize their failure to achieve was studied. The subjects were 80 ninth grade pupils, half of whom smoked. A nine point self-anchoring Expectation scale was developed to determine how closely the subjects came to meeting the perceived expectations of their parents, their school, their peers, and themselves. Both male and female smokers did not feel that they came as close to meeting their parents and schools expectations as did the non-smokers. The two groups however failed to show any significant differences in perceiving themselves as living up to the expectations of their peers and themselves. Assuming that smoking is a compensatory action by youngsters who do not succeed academically and socially, it is recommended that educators approach the cause of the problem, which is failure, rather than smoking which is the effect. If it were possible to downplay smoking and at the same time broaden the potential for achievement to enable more students to increase their feelings of self-worth, smoking might become a less necessary crutch. (RSM)