Multiple Peer Group Self-Identification and Adolescent Tobacco Use

Abstract

Associations between peer group self-identification and smoking were examined among 2,698 ethnically diverse middle school students in Los Angeles who self-identified with groups such as Rockers, Skaters, and Gamers. The sample was 47.1% male, 54.7% Latino, 25.4% Asian, 10.8% White, 9.1% Other ethnicity, and 59.3% children of immigrant parents. Multiple group self-identification was common: 84% identified with two or more groups and 65% identified with three or more groups. Logistic regression analyses indicated that as students endorsed more high-risk groups, the greater their risk of tobacco use. A classification tree analysis identified risk groups based on interactions among ethnicity, gender, and group self-identification. Psychographic targeting based on group self-identification could be useful to design more relevant smoking prevention messages for adolescents who identify with high-risk peer groups.

RÉSUMÉ

Les associations entre l'identification du groupe de pairs et le tabagisme ont été examinés chez 2,698 ethniquement diverse collégiens à Los Angeles qui se sont identifiés avec des groupes comme Rockers, les patineurs et les joueurs. L’échantillon était de sexe masculin 47.1%, 54.7% latinos, asiatiques 25.4%, 10.8% de Blancs, 9.1% Autres ethnicité, et 59.3% des enfants de parents immigrants. L'identification de groupes multiples était commune: 84% identifiés avec deux ou plusieurs groupes et 65% ont identifié avec trois groupes ou plus. Les analyses de régression logistique a indiqué que des groupes comme les étudiants entériné risque plus élevé, plus le risque pour la consommation de tabac. Une analyse de classification des arbres identifié les groupes à risque basée sur les interactions entre l'appartenance ethnique, le sexe et groupe d'auto-identification. Psychographiques ciblage basé sur le groupe d'auto-identification peuvent être utiles pour concevoir des messages plus pertinents de prévention du tabagisme chez les adolescents qui s'identifient à des groupes de pairs à haut risque.

RESUMEN

Asociaciones entre la identificación con un grupo paritario y el tabaquismo fueron examinados en una muestra de etnicidad diversa de 2,698 estudiantes de la escuela media de Los Angeles que se auto-identificaron con grupos como Rockers, patinadores y videojugadores. La muestra fue de 47.1% hombres, 54.7% latinos, asiáticos 25.4%, 10.8% blancos, 9.1% otra raza, y el 59.3% se identificaron como los niños de padres inmigrantes. Fue común identificarse con múltiples grupos: el 84% se identificaron con dos o más grupos y el 65% se identificaron ó con tres o más grupos. Análisis de regresión logística indicó que en cuanto los estudiantes respaldaron a los grupos de mayor riesgo, mayor fue su riesgo de usar tabaco. Un análisis de niveles de clasificación identificó los grupos de riesgo basados en las interacciones entre la etnicidad, género y auto-identificación de grupo. Psicográficos focalización basada en la auto-identificación de grupos podría ser útil para diseñar mensajes más relevantes para la prevención del fumar entre los adolescentes que se identifican con los grupos paritarios de alto riesgo.

Keywords :

• tobacco use
• adolescent
• peer group
• ethnicity
• prevention

THE AUTHORS

Juliana L. Fuqua, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is a former National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellow at the University of Southern California. She completed her Ph.D. at the School of Social Ecology, University of California. Her research interests include examining factors that are associated with risky health behaviors, particularly among adolescents and adults, and those that facilitate or hinder success of transdisciplinary teams (e.g., teams working to prevent adolescent smoking).

Peggy E. Gallaher, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Claremont Graduate University. Her research interests include adapting psychosocial measures written for adults for use by children, defining and assessing acculturation and ethnic identity, and establishing the cultural equivalence of psychological tests. She received her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988 and a master's degree in Biostatistics from Columbia University in 1994.

Jennifer B. Unger, Ph.D., is a Professor at the School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University. Her research focuses on psychosocial and cultural predictors of substance use and other health-related behaviors among adolescents, including acculturation, cultural values, peer influences, family influences, and stressful life events. Dr. Unger is currently conducting several large-scale studies of adolescents’ health behaviors across cultural contexts.

Dennis R. Trinidad, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Administration at the School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University. His major areas of research interest are in the social, environmental, and individual factors relevant to racial/ethnic disparities in health and health behaviors, with an emphasis on tobacco use. His research has also focused on adolescent emotional intelligence and substance use. Dr. Trinidad received his Ph.D. in Preventive Medicine and his MPH in Applied Biometry and Epidemiology from the University of Southern California. He completed his postdoctoral training in cancer prevention and control at the University of California, San Diego.

Steve Sussman, Ph.D., is a Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology at the University of Southern California. Dr. Sussman conducts research in the prediction, prevention, and cessation of tobacco and other drug abuse and in the utility of empirical program development methods. He has published over 220 articles, and many chapters and books in the area of drug use and abuse. He was selected as the Research Laureate of the American Academy of Health Behavior for 2005. Dr. Sussman received his BS in Psychology from the University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign in 1976 and his MS and Ph.D. in Clinical–Social Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981 and 1984, respectively. He served on a clinical psychology residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center/Jackson VA Medical Center Consortium from 1983 to 1984.

Enrique Ortega, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Turin. His current research activities include the cultural adaptation and implementation of international adolescent risk behavior prevention programs in the Italian context. In addition, he is currently conducting investigations to identify the intrapersonal and environmental predictors of the onset and progression of alcohol and tobacco use among Italian adolescents.

C. Anderson Johnson, Ph.D., is the Dean of the School of Community and Global Health at Claremont Graduate University. His research focuses on dispositional and contextual characteristics as they work in combination (culture by environment and gene by environment interactions) to affect tobacco and alcohol use trajectories and on their prevention at different points in the trajectories. In particular, his research focuses on: prevention of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use; prevention of HIV-AIDS; prevention of obesity; social and environmental influences on health-related behavior and health outcomes; domestic and international (transnational) health-related behaviors; and community and mass media approaches to prevention of chronic diseases and promotion of healthy lifestyles.