摘要：Objectives. With tobacco smoking prevention in mind, 1) to compare trait anxiety levels between preadolescents who are beginning with smoking and those who are not, and 2) to measure whether, or not, smoking cessation may influence levels of trait anxiety. Material and methods. All of the pupils entering the sixth grade in the Vosges department (France), during the school year 2001-2002 (age: 11) were followed during four years, by questionnaire. Data collected:tobacco use and trait anxiety ( Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) . Prospective cohort study, by questionnaire. Results. There is already a small percentage of regular smokers at age 11 years (3.5 % among boys, 1.2 % among girls). This percentage increases quickly, as well as the quantity of smoked cigarettes. Among never smokers, trait anxiety of preadolescent who will start to smoke within six months, is higher than that of pupils who will remain non smokers, but this difference is not always significant. Among smokers, trait anxiety is higher than among non smokers. Finally, trait anxiety of preadolescents who gave up smoking remained as high as when they smoked regularly. Discussion. As in other studies, our regular smokers of both sexes are more anxious than never smokers, and this could underline the anxiogenic influence of nicotine. But these data change at 13 years and after: while girls remain with a high anxiety trait level, the difference disappears among boys.Would girls be more sensitive to nicotine action? Conclusion. These findings could constitute arguments to carry out prevention actions intended to reduce anxiety among early adolescent smokers and ex-smokers. As many smokers believe that tobacco has a calming effect, this measure could help them not to start smoking again
关键词：style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> early adolescents, smoking prevention, anxiety
