Examining the Mediating Effect of Believability on the Relationship between Social Influences and Smoking Behavior for Smoking Cessation among Korean Youths

This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of believability of pictorial cigarette pack warnings on the relationship between social influences and the number of cigarettes smoked per month by Korean youth. Data from the 14th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in 2018 was studied. The survey collected data on the health and health behaviors of Korean youths aged between 12 and 18 years. The study sample consisted of 3151 adolescent smokers, about 70% of whom were male. The age of the study sample ranged from 13 to 18 ( SD = 1.412). The number of cigarettes smoked per month was 16 (SD = 10.7). Data analysis consisted of preliminary and structural equation model (SEM) analyses. We found a significant relationship between believability of pictorial cigarette pack warnings and exposure to smoking-related environments, in the sense that believability of pictorial cigarette pack warnings mediated the relationship between exposure to smoking-related environments and the number of cigarettes smoked per month. The findings of this study provide a basis for smoking prevention and cessation approaches based on the concept of believability of pictorial cigarette pack warnings for Korean youth.