A comparative study of sociocultural factors and young adults' smoking in two midwestern communities

Abstract

Young adults were the only age group to defy the downward trend in cigarette use seen in the 1980s and 1990s. To help explain this phenomenon, we conducted an exploratory study to examine the association between the sociocultural contexts of young adults' everyday lives and their smoking attitudes and behaviors. "Context" was operationalized by (a) including students and nonstudents in the study population, and (b) selecting two distinctly different areas of Minnesota for examination. The study sites were Hibbing and environs (Range), the sparsely populated hub of the state's once-thriving iron ore industry, and the Twin Cities metropolitan area (Metro), center of state government, finance, transportation, education, and industry. This report focuses on the first phase of the study, which consisted of a computer-assisted telephone interview of 995 randomly selected young adults, aged 18-24. Approximately equal numbers of students and nonstudents were selected from each site. Exploratory factor analysis yielded four distinct scales related to alcohol consumption and partying (Drinking Behavior), the social attractiveness and utility of smoking (Social Utility), outdoor recreation (Outdoor Rec), and media use and hours of free time. We decided not to use the media and free time scale, however, because of its low Cronbach alpha (.42). We used polynomial logistic regression to evaluate the association between smoking status, gender, student status, location (Range vs. Metro), and the three retained scales. Results indicated that living on the Iron Range (OR = 2.6), being female (OR = 1.3), and scoring higher on the Social Utility scale (OR = 3.06) increased the risk of smoking, whereas being a student (OR = 0.53) decreased the risk substantially.

Smoking Initiation Among Young Adults in the United States and Canada, 1998-2010: A Systematic Review

“…One study found that 30% of young adults not enrolled in college (or without a college degree) smoked, compared to 14% of their college-educated counterparts (36). The study also found differences in smoking prevalence between white-collar and blue-collar workers within the STW population; those employed in the service industry and blue-collar occupations reported the highest rate of smoking prevalence among young adults aged 18 to 24, consistent with other studies (37,38). According to the US Census Bureau's 2006-2008 American Community Survey, approximately 41% of the nearly 30 million young adults aged 18 to 24 are currently enrolled in postsecondary education (39); thus, approximately 18 million young adults in the United States must be in the STW population or military (39).…”

Does Smoking Increase Risk for Caries? A Cross-Sectional Study in an Italian Military Academy

“…In 2009 the percentage of the male population using tobacco was about 29%, with the highest value in the age range 25-44. The main increase was observed in adolescents and young adults [ISS, 2009], as reported in several countries [Warren et al, 2000;Petersen et al, 2003;Gilpin et al, 2005;Steele et al, 2007]. An overall hypothesis that the work environment might influence aspects of smoking behaviour was extensively reported [Albertsen et al, 2006].…”

Periodontal health status and smoking among young adults

“…Research has indicated that the previous popular hypothesis, which suggests that oral hygiene is the pivotal cause of periodontitis, should be questioned and that smoking may be a more important aetiological factor, especially among developing countries (Peto 1992, Prayitno et al 1993, Amarasena et al 2002, Hujoel 2003. Moreover, cigarette smoking in many countries has exhibited an alarming increase among adolescents and young adults (Warren et al 2000, Gilpin et al 2005, Peterson et al 2006, Steele et al 2007). Periodontal disease is primarily prevalent among the adult population; however, researchers have indicated that this disease is also common and of importance among young adults, adolescents and even children (Bimstein et al 2001).…”