Why do apprentices smoke much more than high school students? Understanding educational disparities in smoking with a Oaxaca-blinder decomposition analysis

Abstract

Background: Educational disparities in daily smoking begin during adolescence and can lead to educational disparities in health among adults. In particular, vocational students including apprentices have higher daily smoking rates compared to non-vocational students. This study aimed to identify the determinants of the gap in daily smoking between French apprentices and high school students aged 17 in 2008 and in 2017. Methods: We used data from a cross-sectional repeated survey representative of all French adolescents aged 17 in 2008 and 2017. We conducted a non-linear extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique and included the following variables: sociodemographic and familial characteristics, parental smoking, cannabis and alcohol use, suicidal attempt, grade repetition and money received. Results: Daily smoking was about two times higher among French apprentices compared to high school students in 2008. This gap did not decrease between 2008 and 2017. Differences in measured characteristics between the two groups explained this gap partly, from 28.6 to 51.2%. Cannabis and alcohol use, money received and parental smoking contributed the most to the daily smoking gap. Conclusions: Prevention programs could target cannabis and alcohol use as well as parental smoking to help decrease educational disparities in smoking status among French adolescents.

Multiple Health Risk Factors in Vocational Education Students: A Systematic Review

“…Overall, 177 of the full-text records were excluded and reasons for exclusion are presented in Figure 1 . Eight studies [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] were deemed eligible and were included in the review.…”

“…Table 2 describes the characteristics of included studies. Two studies were conducted in the United States [ 37 , 39 ] and one study in each of Australia [ 36 ], the Netherlands [ 35 ], France [ 38 ], Switzerland [ 42 ], Germany [ 40 ] and United Kingdom [ 41 ]. All eight studies were published from 2007 onwards.…”

“…All eight studies were published from 2007 onwards. Seven studies used a cross-sectional design [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 42 ], and one study used a longitudinal design [ 40 ]. The sample size ranged from 142 [ 37 ] to 5688 [ 40 ].…”

“…The sample size ranged from 142 [ 37 ] to 5688 [ 40 ]. Five studies reported mean age which ranged from 17.4 years [ 38 ] to 22.75 years [ 37 ]; one study reported a median age of 18 years [ 42 ], and one study recruited participants 16 years and older [ 36 ]. Five studies [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 42 ] reported a majority of female participants whereas two studies [ 38 , 40 ] reported a majority of male participants.…”

“…Five studies reported mean age which ranged from 17.4 years [ 38 ] to 22.75 years [ 37 ]; one study reported a median age of 18 years [ 42 ], and one study recruited participants 16 years and older [ 36 ]. Five studies [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 42 ] reported a majority of female participants whereas two studies [ 38 , 40 ] reported a majority of male participants. For recruitment method used, two studies recruited students using an information sheet distributed to students weeks prior to the data collection [ 35 , 36 ]; one study displayed posters, distributed handouts around campuses and advertised via community college newspapers and email [ 37 ]; one study recruited all adolescents who attended the National Defence and Citizenship Day (JDC) [ 38 ]; one study recruited students during a regular school lesson reserved for health education [ 42 ]; one study recruited students by sending questionnaire packs to their advisors who distributed them during their study day [ 41 ], and two studies did not report recruitment method [ 39 , 40 ].…”