Family income trajectory during childhood is associated with adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol use

Abstract

Background Although childhood socioeconomic disadvantage has been linked with adolescent tobacco and alcohol use in cross-sectional research, less is known about the influence of changes in socioeconomic status during childhood. Upward socioeconomic mobility may attenuate the negative influence of earlier socioeconomic disadvantage on health, while downward mobility may counter the health benefits of earlier socioeconomic advantage. This study evaluated the influence of common trajectories of family income during childhood on smoking and alcohol use during adolescence. Methods Data utilized were part of the 15-year longitudinal Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. A 5-class trajectory model (two stable, one downward, and two upward income trajectories) was developed previously with this sample (N = 1356). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether children of the more disadvantaged income trajectories were more likely to engage in tobacco and alcohol use at age 15 relative to those of the most advantaged trajectory. Results Family income trajectory was significantly associated with ever-smoking (p = .02) and past-year alcohol use at age 15 years (p = .008). Children from the less advantaged trajectories were more likely to have ever-smoked than children of the most advantaged trajectory (all p’s < .05). Children of the downwardly mobile trajectory were more likely to have used alcohol within the past year than children of the most advantaged trajectories as well as the most disadvantaged trajectory (all p’s < .05). Conclusions Findings indicate that childhood socioeconomic disadvantage influences adolescent smoking, while downward socioeconomic mobility influences adolescent alcohol use.

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Sources of Social Influence on Adolescents’ Alcohol Use

“…In addition to these predictors, we control for variables that are associated with more frequent/ heavier alcohol use in adolescence: age (wave of data collection), school grades, socioeconomic status (SES; free/reduced price school lunch), and living with both parents (Brown & Rinelli, 2010;Johnston et al, 2016;Poonawalla, Kendzor, Owen, & Caughy, 2014). As norms for alcohol use and susceptibility to social influence change across adolescence (Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011;CDC, 2015;Johnston et al, 2016;Steinberg & Monahan, 2007), we explore whether age moderates each association we examine.…”