NCJ Number
196961
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 37 Issue: 5-7 Dated: 2002 Pages: 613-630
Date Published
2002
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study describes cigarette smoking by adolescents in the United States from 1996 to 2000.
Abstract
This study was designed to overcome the limitations of previous studies of cigarette use in rural youth. The sample included 7th through 12th grade youth in schools from a representative sample of rural communities. Over 60,000 adolescents participated in the survey. Participants were asked whether they had ever smoked cigarettes, to self-classify their use of cigarettes, and their ongoing level of smoking. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model smoking as a function of grade, gender, region, and community size (rurality). Results show that, controlling for region, rural adolescents smoked more than adolescents living in more metropolitan areas. Rurality did not moderate the relation between gender and smoking. Males generally smoked more than females. The exception to this pattern was found in the West. Students in the South smoked the most, and adolescents in the West smoked the least. Grade-related increases in smoking were largest in the Northeast and Midwest. By the 12th grade, adolescents from the Northeast showed the highest levels of cigarette smoking. Although students in the South demonstrated higher levels of smoking than youth in other regions on average, this difference was most pronounced in the early grades. Early intervention may be particularly important for youth in the South. There is a need to examine a wide range of rural communities. Diversity is more pronounced across rural communities. Future research should determine how the characteristics of a rural community affect its youth. 4 tables, 32 references