Family and peer risk factors as predictors of lifetime tobacco use among Iranian adolescents: gender similarities and differences.

Azam Baheiraei,Farzaneh Soltani,Abbas Ebadi,Abbas Rahimi Foroushani,Mohammad Ali Cheraghi

doi:10.5539/gjhs.v6n4p63

Abstract

Introduction:Family and peer risk factors are considered as important predictors of tobacco use in adolescents. Furthermore, information regarding gender differences in lifetime tobacco use of adolescents is essential for designing gender-specific tobacco prevention policies.Methods:In a cross-sectional population-based study, 870 Iranian adolescents (430 boys and 436 girls) aged 15-18 years old, filled out the adopted form of “Communities That Care Youth Survey”. Four family and two peer risk factors were entered in adjusted logistic regression analyses to predict the lifetime tobacco use (cigarette and smokeless tobacco) in boys and girls, separately.Results:Boys reported higher prevalence of lifetime cigarettes use compared to girls (22.8% vs. 17.8%, p = 0.04). However, the prevalence of lifetime smokeless tobacco use in girls was the same as boys, even slightly higher (7.9% vs. 7.1%, P=0.5). “Family history of drug use” and “Friends use of drugs” were common risk factors predicting cigarettes and smokeless tobacco use between both genders. On the other hand, other family risk factors included “Poor family management”, “Parental attitude favorable toward drug use” and “Family conflict” were the predictors of lifetime tobacco use only in girls, but not in boys.Conclusion:Design and implementation of preventative programs for adolescents tobacco use should be conducted with emphasis on the role of smoker parents at home, and friendship with substance user peers with antisocial behaviors. It seems that family risk factors may have more value in prevention of tobacco use in female adolescents.

Highlights

And peer risk factors are considered as important predictors of tobacco use in adolescents
Design and implementation of preventative programs for adolescents tobacco use should be conducted with emphasis on the role of smoker parents at home, and friendship with substance user peers with antisocial behaviors
It seems that family risk factors may have more value in prevention of tobacco use in female adolescents

Summary

Introduction

And peer risk factors are considered as important predictors of tobacco use in adolescents. Despite the global anti-tobacco policies and heightened public awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco, use of tobacco still remains a global public health problem (Kelishadi, 2011). In Iran, over 65% of the population are in the age range of adolescence, which is considered the age of onset of tobacco use (Sarraf-Zadegan, Boshtam & Shahrokhi, 2004; Jafarabadi, Allahverdipour, & Bashirian, 2012). Despite the onset of anti-tobacco policies since the 1990’s in Iran, national studies have documented an alarming rise in adolescents tobacco trends especially among girls (Kelishadi et al, 2006). Results of national studies on tobacco use in Iran indicate reducing prevalence of regular users, but the problem of tobacco use among adolescents remains unresolved (WHO, 2011). It has been reported that 19.4% of Iranian adolescents have smoked in their lifetime, and 28.9% of school pupils occasionally smoke (Jafarabadi et al, 2012). 66.7% of present smokers confess to have experienced their first cigarette at the age of 14 (Moeini et al, 2012), whereas tobacco use in adolescence is considered the gateway to use of drugs such as heroin, cannabis, cocaine, and stimulants, and has a powerful role in prediction of drug-related behaviors and other future problem behaviors

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion