Predictors of susceptibility to smoking and ever smoking: A longitudinal study in a triethnic sample of adolescents

Abstract

This report describes a longitudinal study of the natural course of smoking initiation in a school-based, ethnically diverse (42% White, 37% African American, 20% Hispanic) sample of adolescents in grades 5, 8, and 12 who were followed prospectively for 1 year. A cohort of 659 students was identified who were never smokers at baseline and who completed questionnaires both at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. From this cohort, predictor variables were used to identify ethnic-specific risk factors for (a) "susceptibility to smoking" among the 509 students who were nonsusceptible, never smokers at baseline and (b) "ever smoking" among all 659 students who were never smokers at baseline (both susceptible and nonsusceptible). Logistic regression analyses revealed that parental and household influences (parental education, marital status, household smoking) were important predictors of ever smoking, but not of susceptibility to smoking, for African Americans. Hispanic adolescents were significantly influenced by environmental influences, namely smoking by other household members (ever smoking) and by peers (susceptibility and ever smoking), although peer pro-tobacco influences (friends who smoke or friends' approval of smoking) were important predictors of susceptibility to smoking or ever smoking for all three ethnic groups. Exposure to tobacco-related advertising was a risk factor for White (susceptibility and ever smoking) and African American (susceptibility only) adolescents but not for Hispanic adolescents. Inclusion of the susceptibility to smoking variable in the model predicting ever smoking substantially reduced the importance of other predictors in the model, suggesting that susceptibility to smoking was not an independent risk factor for ever smoking but rather a potential mediating variable. The results of this study offer important insights for designing ethnic-specific strategies for preventing smoking during adolescence.

The relationships between sensation seeking and a spectrum of e-cigarette use behaviors: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses specific to Texas adolescents

“…Consistent with our findings, results from Memetovic et al (2016) indicated that higher sensation seeking scores were associated with significantly higher odds of intention to use cigarettes after for covariates in a sample of eighth and ninth grade Canadian adolescents. To date, no study has examined factors associated with change in susceptibility to e-cigarette use, and research with respect to change in susceptibility to conventional cigarette use among adolescents has not examined sensation seeking as a predictor (Forrester, Biglan, Severson, & Smolkowski, 2007; Gritz et al, 2003; Weiss et al, 2006). Notably, both Forrester et al (2007) and Gritz et al (2003) found that different factors predicted change in susceptibility to smoking versus change in smoking behaviors (initiation of smoking, transition to regular smoking), thus suggesting that different mechanisms may influence change from one stage to another along the tobacco use continuum.…”

Effects of Enactment of Legislative (Public) Smoking Bans on Voluntary Home Smoking Restrictions: A Review

“…Smoke-free legislation may alter social norms by decreasing visibility and perceived acceptability of smoking in public venues and lead people to change their beliefs, awareness, attitudes, and practices concerning smoking. 26,27 Behavioral susceptibility theory argues that if a given behavior becomes inconvenient or difficult, this behavior will gradually decline. 27,28 Indeed, research demonstrates that smoking restrictions in public places inform people about current social norms toward smoking, and that greater perceived social unacceptability is associated with reduced cigarette consumption.…”

“…26,27 Behavioral susceptibility theory argues that if a given behavior becomes inconvenient or difficult, this behavior will gradually decline. 27,28 Indeed, research demonstrates that smoking restrictions in public places inform people about current social norms toward smoking, and that greater perceived social unacceptability is associated with reduced cigarette consumption. 26 A second, somewhat more pessimistic, theoretical model is that of displacement or last refuge which posits that smoking bans in public places will displace smoking behaviors to private places, like homes, and will produce undesired effects such as increased SHS exposure for nonsmoking family members.…”

Curiosity predicts smoking experimentation independent of susceptibility in a US national sample

“…While this index consistently identifies teens with double the risk of starting to smoke (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012), the proportion of true positives (sensitivity) over the subsequent four years is a low one third of future smokers (Choi, Gilpin, Farkas, & Pierce, 2001; Gritz et al, 2003). This at-risk measure index would be more useful for the development of effective population interventions if it identified more than half of future smokers.…”