Racial/Ethnic Differences in Cigarette Smoking Initiation and Progression to Daily Smoking: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

The few identified racial/ethnic differences in predictors of smoking behavior suggest that universal prevention and intervention efforts could reach most adolescents regardless of race/ethnicity. With 2 exceptions, important contextual factors remain to be identified.

Do Schools Moderate the Genetic Determinants of Smoking?

“…Specifically, we show that the heritability of daily smoking is significantly reduced as the proportion of students who are non-Hispanic and white increases (β= −.685, P < .008). Because predominantly white schools have higher rates of smoking compared to other schools (Kandel et al 2004), it was possible that these schools would also have an increased estimate for heritability. As the results indicate, however, this does not appear to be the case.…”

“…They argue that smoking differences among black and white students are compounded by the high levels of racial segregation in schools and that this independently contributes to differential norms about smoking. Kandel et al (2004) also show a significant reduction in the risk of transitioning to daily smoking among those who have experimented with cigarettes as the proportion of minority students within their schools increase. Therefore, it is possible that the heritability of smoking will increase as the proportion of students who are non-Hispanic and white increases.…”

“…In other words, among those within networks who already approve of and reinforce smoking, the rules of the school seem to have little or no effect. Similarly, Kandel et al (2004) use data from the Add Health study and predict the likelihood of smoking onset and daily smoking by wave II as a function of several school level factors. They show that smoking prevalence at the school-level strongly predicts the likelihood that a formerly non-smoking student will begin smoking by wave II but the school-level policies do not appear to have a significant impact on the risk of smoking.…”

“…We use the same definitions as previous work in this area (Kandel et al 2004) and refer to these outcomes as smoking onset and daily smoking, respectively. Overall, 44.6% of the respondents reported smoking onset and 21.8% reported daily smoking.…”

“…Institutional control is measured using two measures from the School Administration component of the Add Health study. First, similar to other work in this area (Kandel et al 2004) we measure school smoking policies by summing administrator responses regarding the disciplinary action of the school upon the 1st and 2nd incidence of smoking on school-grounds including a) verbal warning; b) minor action; c) inschool suspension; or d) expulsion. This school-level variable ranges from values of 0-7.…”