Children growing up today encounter a variety of negative environmental stressors, with some children developing more “resiliency,” or the ability to withstand more adversity or pressure from such stressors, than others. This paper describes the first wave of a longitudinal, repeated measures study of several child cohorts of both elementary and middle school age groups from North Carolina and California, examining patterns of resiliency in response to environmental pressures to initiate use of tobacco products. Just as some children develop more resiliency to environmental stressors than others, similar differences can be seen in children’s responses to their own health risk perceptions. Certain children are more likely to exhibit health-compromising behaviors, as evidenced by the differential prevalence rates in children’s initiation of tobacco products use. Not only are the numbers of youth who use tobacco products increasing, despite declining numbers of adult smokers, the age of initiation of this high-risk health behavior is becoming dramatically younger in certain populations. Finding potential key factors for these differential responses, and testing the hypothesis that patterns of resiliency develop prior to the child’s decision to initiate tobacco use are primary goals of the study.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to 1) Identify specific characteristics of resiliency against the health risk behavior of tobacco use initiation in elementary and middle school populations; 2) Describe significant differences in tobacco use in these age groups in relation to varying resiliency levels; and, 3) Differentiate significant periods of developmental transition when children’s levels of resiliency toward initiation of tobacco use are most vulnerable.
Keywords: Health Risks, Tobacco
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.