C S Fryer

Correspondence to: Dr C S Fryer, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; cfryer@cmh.pitt.edu

QUESTION

What are the beliefs and experiences of adolescents related to quitting smoking?

DESIGN

Grounded theory.

SETTING

3 high schools in New York City and 6 community-based organisations.

PARTICIPANTS

54 adolescents 16–18 years of age (63% men) who had smoked >100 cigarettes in their lifetime and had attempted to quit smoking at least once.

METHODS

46 adolescents participated in individual interviews (45–60 min), and 31 participated in focus group sessions (60–75 min). Interviews and focus groups addressed different aspects of quitting smoking, including what quitting meant, history of smoking and quit attempts, self-identification as smokers or ex-smokers, reasons to quit, strategies for resisting urges to smoke, influences affecting quitting, and quit methods. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, coded using an inductive approach, and analysed for themes using grounded theory. Focus groups comprised 4–7 participants per group and were audiotaped (6 groups) and videotaped (3 groups).

MAIN FINDINGS

Beliefs about …