173131 Cigarette use as a coping strategy for managing psychological distress among LGB youths

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 8:48 AM

Margaret Rosario, PhD , Department of Psychology, The City University of New York - City College and Graduate Center, New York, NY
Eric W. Schrimshaw, MA (PhD cand) , Doctoral Program in Psychology, The City University of New York - Graduate Center, New York, NY
Joyce Hunter, DSW , HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
Studies on representative samples document that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youths are at increased risk for cigarette use relative to their heterosexual peers. One potential reason for this disparity is that smoking may serve a beneficial function for LGB youths, such that it provides a coping strategy for managing the gay-specific stressors many LGB youths confront. Such maladaptive coping strategies may be particularly important for those youths who lack other supports (e.g., supportive family). METHOD: The current report longitudinally examines these issues among an ethnically diverse sample of 156 LGB youths (ages 14 – 21) living in New York City. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of youths started smoking or continued to smoke cigarettes over the one-year study period. As hypothesized, after imposing demographic controls, significant associations were identified between cigarette use, family support, and subsequent psychological distress. Specifically, significant interactions revealed that among youths who lacked high levels of family support, cigarette smoking was significantly associated with fewer anxious symptoms and conduct problems one year later. In contrast, youths who had more supportive families derived fewer psychological benefits from cigarette use. Cigarette use was also associated with fewer depressive symptoms regardless of the level of family support. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest LGB youths who lack family supports may seek out alternative coping strategies to manage the stress in their lives, resulting in lower psychological distress. These findings suggest that smoking cession efforts for LGB youths may need to address the unmet needs of social support and distress to be maximally effective.

Learning Objectives:
Provide an understanding of the nature and magnitude of differences in cigarette use between LGB and heterosexual youths. Describe the theoretical reasons why some LGB youths may use cigarettes as a coping strategy. Suggest the extent to which cigarette use may serve to reduce psychological distress among LGB youths and which youths are most likely to use cigarettes as a coping strategy. Describe how current smoking cessation efforts may be modified in light of these findings.

Keywords: Tobacco, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a doctoral degree in psychology and have researched, written, and published widely in the area of LGB health. I served as the principal investigator of the study from which these data are drawn, conceptualized the specific hypotheses examined here, and conducted all of the analyses.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.