Iranian Association of Cultural Studies & Communication Society Culture Media 2322-3855 12 46 2023 05 22 The role of cultural differences and informing methods on adolescents' smoking (Case study: Varamin County students) The role of cultural differences and informing methods on adolescents' smoking (Case study: Varamin County students) 107 130 173135 FA Azadeh Nazari Islamic Azad Nastaran Khadjeh Noori Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University 0000-0002-7183-3750 Hourieh Dehghanshad Asistant professorDepartment of Communication Sciences, Social Sciences and Communication and Media, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Tehran, Iran 0000-0002-5966-0762 Mahnaz Ronaghu Notash azad Journal Article 2022 11 25 One of the characteristics of Iranian society is cultural diversity, thus it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of intercultural communication and try to identify factors affecting it. In fact, In fact, cultural and ethnic diversity is effective in the occurrence of certain behaviors and general people's lifestyles according to background variables such as gender, and Socioeconomic status. Therefore, this study seeks to determine how social interactions based on habit and cultural background in the fields of practice (reference groups), combined with various methods of educating and informing, affect smoking and control it among adolescents. This is descriptive-survey research in terms of survey type and was conducted in 2020. It involved 319 school-going adolescents in Varamin County, Tehran, Iran (aged 16-18 years) who completed a self-administered anonymous questionnaire on the use of tobacco products. After completing the questionnaires, the data were analyzed, using relative frequency, frequency percentage, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kendall’s, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and the chi-square test. The findings show that contextual factors, dominant culture based on ethnicity, peer groups, and family gatherings all have a direct and significant influence on smoking proclivity. Social networks and peer groups were also more effective than mass media and schools in informing individuals about smoking’s risks. One of the characteristics of Iranian society is cultural diversity, thus it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of intercultural communication and try to identify factors affecting it. In fact, In fact, cultural and ethnic diversity is effective in the occurrence of certain behaviors and general people's lifestyles according to background variables such as gender, and Socioeconomic status. Therefore, this study seeks to determine how social interactions based on habit and cultural background in the fields of practice (reference groups), combined with various methods of educating and informing, affect smoking and control it among adolescents. This is descriptive-survey research in terms of survey type and was conducted in 2020. It involved 319 school-going adolescents in Varamin County, Tehran, Iran (aged 16-18 years) who completed a self-administered anonymous questionnaire on the use of tobacco products. After completing the questionnaires, the data were analyzed, using relative frequency, frequency percentage, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kendall’s, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and the chi-square test. The findings show that contextual factors, dominant culture based on ethnicity, peer groups, and family gatherings all have a direct and significant influence on smoking proclivity. Social networks and peer groups were also more effective than mass media and schools in informing individuals about smoking’s risks. https://www.jscm.ir/article_173135_5397a7615448c630b4b36a1961ef5bd6.pdf