Fb. Hu et al., THE PATTERNS AND PREDICTORS OF SMOKELESS TOBACCO ONSET AMONG URBAN PUBLIC-SCHOOL TEENAGERS, American journal of preventive medicine, 12(1), 1996, pp. 22-28
This study describes the patterns and predictors of smokeless tobacco
(ST) use in a large sample of urban public school students in Los Ange
les and San Diego. The use of ST is more common among men than women a
nd among Caucasians than African Americans, Hispanics, and others. App
roximately 20% of the male respondents and 5% of the female respondent
s reported use of ST at least once, and 10.1% of male students and 3.1
% of female students who had never tried ST by seventh grade started t
o use it by eighth grade. Among Caucasians, about 30% of boys reported
trying ST at least once and 13.7% of those who had never used ST by s
eventh grade initiated experimentation by eighth grade. These data are
used to examine the family, peer, and intrapersonal predictors of ST
onset. The family risk factors for ST onset include living with a sing
le parent, parent-child conflicts, and parental alcohol use. The peer
risk factors for ST use include peer drug use and activities with frie
nds, such as parties and participation in sports. The intrapersonal ri
sk factors include poor grades in school, risk taking, and stress. The
study also shows that those who use cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana
are at higher risk of using ST and vice versa. This study supports a
problem-prone behavior perspective of ST use and cigarette smoking. We
suggest that both products be targeted because the same programs are
likely to apply to both products to counteract problem-prone type vari
ables. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): tobacco, smokeless chewing tob
acco, adolescent behavior.