C. Rissel et al., Factors associated with delayed tobacco uptake among Vietnamese/Asian and Arabic youth in Sydney, NSW, AUS NZ J PU, 24(1), 2000, pp. 22-28
Citations number
24
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science
Journal title
AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Objective: To describe the smoking behaviour and possible reasons for delay
ed uptake of tobacco smoking among Arabic and Vietnamese/Asian speaking sen
ior school students in Sydney
Method: A descriptive study involving four adult in-depth interviews and fi
ve student focus groups plus a quantitative survey of 2,573 school students
attending Years 10 and 11 from 12 high schools with high Vietnamese and Ar
abic populations was conducted in Sydney In 1998. Self-reported smoking beh
aviour and peer, parent, school and cultural background information was col
lected.
Results: Students who smoke were more likely to have more than $20 a week p
ocket money, be from an English-speaking background, have no rules at home
about smoking, have family members who smoke, not feel close to their fathe
r, spend three or more evenings a week out with friends, and have negative
perceptions of the school environment and of the level of teacher support.
They were less likely to smoke if they perceived their peers to be unsuppor
tive.
Conclusions: These results confirm the delayed uptake of smoking among stud
ents from a Vietnamese/Asian and Arabic-speaking backgrounds compared with
those from an English-speaking background. A number of family and school fa
ctors were associated with smoking.
Implications: Positive parental modelling, active parenting including aware
ness of or supervision of student leisure time, strict rules about not smok
ing and less pocket money are important strategies for preventing smoking a
mong all adolescents.