Individual and social correlates of cigarette smoking among urban African American adolescents

African American youth, compared to White and Hispanic youth, face more risk factors for smoking (Monitoring the Future, 2006). Though African American adolescents experiment with cigarettes in early adolescence their experimenting does not escalate into heavy smoking in adulthood (Ellickson, 2004). Family and peers are promotive factors against smoking among African American youth. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of attitudes, intention to use tobacco and external influences on cigarette smoking among urban African American adolescents.

Ninety eight African American youth ages 12 to 19 living in a Mid-Atlantic housing project participated in this study. Convenient sampling techniques were employed. The study used a cross-sectional research design. Univariate, bivariate and regression analyses are reported.

Thirty two percent of the youth reported having smoked in the last year. Frequency of smoking in the last year was positively correlated to age, who introduced the youth to smoking and intentions to use tobacco as an adult. Smoking was inversely correlated to attitudes towards smoking. The overall model explained 44 percent of the variance in cigarette smoking. Results have implication for the preventative interventions.

Research among African American youth found family and peer influences are promotive factors against cigarette smoking; however, the current investigation suggests that individual and social factors influence frequency of smoking. Preventative intervention among urban youth should focus on reducing adolescents' intentions to smoke cigarettes in adulthood.