Primary schoolboys: image of self and smoker.

Abstract

The way primary schoolboys see themselves and also see young smokers, may have implications for health education. In this paper a comparison is made between the self-images of 229 primary schoolboys and their images of a young person who smokes. The two images were very different, both for smokers and non-smokers, although the difference for smokers was smaller. It appears that children of this age who smoke do not see themselves as 'smokers', and may not relate the health education they receive on this subject to themselves.