Adversities Mediate Social Determinants of Youth Tobacco Use Initiation

Overview

Journal J Biomed Life Sci

Publisher Science Publications

Date 2024 Sep 20

PMID 39301089

Authors

Shervin Assari

Payam Sheikhattari

Hossein Zare

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Social determinants of health (SDOH) significantly influence health behaviors, including tobacco use among youth. Adversities such as perceived discrimination, perceived neighborhood stress, life trauma, and financial strain are stressors that may mediate the relationship between various SDOH and youth tobacco use. This study aims to investigate whether multidimensional adversities mediate the effects of SDOH on tobacco use among youth.

Methods: Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were used to test our hypotheses. The sample included a diverse cohort of youth aged 9-10 years old followed until they were 15-16 years old. We examined the effects of baseline parental education, household income, neighborhood income, and family structure on subsequent youth tobacco use. Structural equation models were used to test if adversities (perceived discrimination, life trauma, financial strain) operate as potential mediators.

Results: All ABCD participants were eligible for our analysis, regardless of race, ethnicity, or SDOHs (n = 11,878). The findings indicated that the effects of parental education, household income, neighborhood income, and family structure on youth tobacco use were partially mediated by adversities. Higher levels of parental education and household income were associated with lower tobacco use, and this relationship was weakened when accounting for adversities. Similarly, stable family structures and higher neighborhood income were linked to reduced tobacco use, with adversities playing a mediating role.

Conclusions: Multidimensional adversities partially mediate the relationship between SDOH at baseline and subsequent youth tobacco use. Interventions aimed at reducing youth tobacco use should address both the social determinants and multiple adversities experienced by adolescents. Policies to improve the educational and economic situations of families, enhance neighborhood environments, and support stable family structures all reduce youth tobacco use, with lower exposure to adversities explaining this effect.

Citing Articles

Pallidum Functional Hypoconnectivity and Inhibitory Control as Partial Mediators of Environmental Influences on Tobacco and Marijuana Initiation.

Assari S, Zare H J Cell Neurosci. 2025; 1(1):33-45.

PMID: 39958649 PMC: 11829798. DOI: 10.31586/jcn.2025.1140.

Trauma and Early Puberty May Be Stronger Predictors of Early Tobacco Initiation in Girls Compared to Boys.

Assari S, Zare H J Biomed Life Sci. 2025; 5(1):1-13.

PMID: 39950193 PMC: 11822890. DOI: 10.31586/jbls.2025.1135.

Financial Strain Partially Explains Diminished Returns of Parental Education in the ABCD Study.

Assari S, Zare H Open J Neurosci. 2024; 2(1):25-34.

PMID: 39734514 PMC: 11674010. DOI: 10.31586/ojn.2024.1129.

References

Lee J, Sun D, Schleicher N, Ribisl K, Luke D, Henriksen L . Inequalities in tobacco outlet density by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, 2012, USA: results from the ASPiRE Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2017; 71(5):487-492. PMC: 5458784. DOI: 10.1136/jech-2016-208475. View

Leventhal A, Urman R, Barrington-Trimis J, Goldenson N, Gallegos K, Chou C . Perceived stress and poly-tobacco product use across adolescence: Patterns of association and gender differences. J Psychiatr Res. 2017; 94:172-179. PMC: 5634516. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.07.010. View

Siqueira L, Diab M, Bodian C, Rolnitzky L . Adolescents becoming smokers: the roles of stress and coping methods. J Adolesc Health. 2000; 27(6):399-408. DOI: 10.1016/s1054-139x(00)00167-1. View

Ryu E, Olson J, Juhn Y, Hathcock M, Wi C, Cerhan J . Association between an individual housing-based socioeconomic index and inconsistent self-reporting of health conditions: a prospective cohort study in the Mayo Clinic Biobank. BMJ Open. 2018; 8(5):e020054. PMC: 5961601. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020054. View

Bonevski B, Regan T, Paul C, Baker A, Bisquera A . Associations between alcohol, smoking, socioeconomic status and comorbidities: evidence from the 45 and Up Study. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2013; 33(2):169-76. DOI: 10.1111/dar.12104. View

Ellis K, Griffith D, Allen J, Thorpe Jr R, Bruce M . "If you do nothing about stress, the next thing you know, you're shattered": Perspectives on African American men's stress, coping and health from African American men and key women in their lives. Soc Sci Med. 2015; 139:107-14. PMC: 4519397. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.06.036. View

Fakunle D, Curriero F, Leaf P, Furr-Holden D, Thorpe R . Black, white, or green? The effects of racial composition and socioeconomic status on neighborhood-level tobacco outlet density. Ethn Health. 2019; 26(7):1012-1027. PMC: 6875694. DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2019.1620178. View

Skov-Ettrup L, Nordestgaard B, Petersen C, Tolstrup J . Does High Tobacco Consumption Cause Psychological Distress? A Mendelian Randomization Study. Nicotine Tob Res. 2016; 19(1):32-38. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntw186. View

Belgrave F, Johnson J, Nguyen A, Hood K, Tademy R, Clark T . Stress and tobacco use among African-American adolescents: the buffering effect of cultural factors. J Drug Educ. 2010; 40(2):173-88. PMC: 10581863. DOI: 10.2190/DE.40.2.e. View

10.

Griffin E, Armstead C . Black's Coping Responses to Racial Stress. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2020; 7(4):609-618. DOI: 10.1007/s40615-019-00690-w. View

11.

Cohen S, Doyle W, Baum A . Socioeconomic status is associated with stress hormones. Psychosom Med. 2006; 68(3):414-20. DOI: 10.1097/01.psy.0000221236.37158.b9. View

12.

Valencia M, Tran B, Lim M, Choi K, Oh J . Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Early Initiation of Smoking, Alcohol Drinking, and Sexual Behavior Among Korean Adolescents. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2019; 31(5):443-453. DOI: 10.1177/1010539519860732. View

13.

Lawlor D, Ebrahim S, Davey Smith G . Association between self-reported childhood socioeconomic position and adult lung function: findings from the British Women's Heart and Health Study. Thorax. 2004; 59(3):199-203. PMC: 1746970. DOI: 10.1136/thorax.2003.008482. View

14.

Hamad R, Brown D, Basu S . The association of county-level socioeconomic factors with individual tobacco and alcohol use: a longitudinal study of U.S. adults. BMC Public Health. 2019; 19(1):390. PMC: 6458796. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6700-x. View

15.

Eek F, Ostergren P, Diderichsen F, Rasmussen N, Andersen I, Moussa K . Differences in socioeconomic and gender inequalities in tobacco smoking in Denmark and Sweden; a cross sectional comparison of the equity effect of different public health policies. BMC Public Health. 2010; 10:9. PMC: 3091588. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-9. View

16.

Richards J, Stipelman B, Bornovalova M, Daughters S, Sinha R, Lejuez C . Biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between stress and smoking: state of the science and directions for future work. Biol Psychol. 2011; 88(1):1-12. PMC: 3171592. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.06.009. View

17.

Behanova M, Reijneveld S, Nagyova I, Katreniakova Z, van Ameijden E, Dijkshoorn H . Are area-level and individual-level socioeconomic factors associated with self-rated health in adult urban citizens? Evidence from Slovak and Dutch cities. Eur J Public Health. 2015; 27(suppl_2):86-92. DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckv095. View

18.

Weinberger A . Socioeconomic Status and Tobacco Use. Nicotine Tob Res. 2022; 24(6):805-806. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntac058. View

19.

Eick S, Meeker J, Brown P, Swartzendruber A, Rios-McConnell R, Shen Y . Associations between socioeconomic status, psychosocial stress, and urinary levels of 8-iso-prostaglandin-F during pregnancy in Puerto Rico. Free Radic Biol Med. 2019; 143:95-100. PMC: 6848779. DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.07.032. View

20.

Gruskin E, Byrne K, Altschuler A, Dibble S . Smoking it all away: influences of stress, negative emotions, and stigma on lesbian tobacco use. J LGBT Health Res. 2009; 4(4):167-79. DOI: 10.1080/15574090903141104. View