Sociodemographic factors associated with smoking risk perception in adolescents in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Objective:We examined the sociodemographic factors associated with smoking risk perceptions (SRP) in youth living in two very different neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil: a middle-class central area (Vila Mariana) and a poor outer-city area (Capão Redondo).Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 180 public school-attending youth (all aged 12 years) and their parents. SRP was evaluated through self-reports. Weighted multinomial logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with SRP.Results:Smoking was considered a high-risk behavior by 70.9% of adolescents. There were significant differences in SRP associated with socioeconomic status (SES) and maternal smoking status. Having a non-smoking mother was positively associated with perceiving smoking as having low to moderate risk versus no risk (OR=3.91 [95%CI 1.27-12.02]). Attending school in Capão Redondo was associated with perceiving smoking as having high risk compared to no risk (OR=3.00 [95%CI 1.11-8.12]), and low SES was negatively associated with perceiving at least some risk in smoking versus perceiving no risk in this behavior.Conclusions:Youth whose mothers smoke appear to have lower SRP than those whose mothers do not smoke. Living in a poor outer-city area was associated with higher SRP.

Association between secondhand smoke exposure in pregnant women and their socioeconomic status and its interaction with age: a cross-sectional study

“…Last, the sample size we used is relatively small and is representative only for a context similar to China; the generalizability of our results should be confirmed in future studies. In summary, risk perceptions and communication were related to SES [58], which could suggest that SES may have practical applications in reducing SHS exposure during pregnancy. Overall, this paper's results indicated that, to a certain extent, a lower SES leads to a higher likelihood of SHS exposure.…”

Association Between Second Hand Smoke (SHS) Exposure In Pregnant Women And Their Socioeconomic Status (SES) And Its Interaction With Age: A Cross-Sectional Study In Urban Areas

“…In summary, the risk perceptions and communication were related with SES [43], which could suggest that SES may have practical applied to smoking cessation implementation. Pregnant women are an key sub-population that should be implement tobacco control efforts for their spouse/partner because both cigarettes and smokeless tobacco pose serious threat to mother and fetus.…”