ACCULTURATION AND CIGARETTE-SMOKING AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADULTS

The relationship between acculturation and cigarette smoking among Afr ican Americans was examined with 444 adults. Results revealed that Afr ican American smokers were more traditional (less acculturated) than t heir nonsmoking counterparts, irrespective of gender, and that accultu ration was a better predictor of smoking than status variables such as income and education. The prevalence of smoking among traditional Afr ican Americans was 33.6% and similar to the national data (33.2%), whe reas the prevalence of smoking among acculturated African Americans wa s 15.3%; 68.49% of African American smokers were highly traditional. T hese findings suggest that acculturation is a factor in smoking among African Americans and highlight the need for further exploration of th e role of acculturation in African American health and health-related behavior.