The relationship between socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and cigarette smoking in urban adolescents.
BACKGROUND
This study examined the relationship between community-level and school-level socioeconomic status indicators and current cigarette smoking among urban adolescents, and examined whether the socioeconomic status-cigarette smoking relationship was similar for African Americans and Whites.


METHODS
Participants were 3,813 seventh-graders recruited in a large school system in the United States. Independent variables included median income and mean education within zip codes of participants' residence, percentage of participants receiving lunch at reduced or no cost at school level, and ethnicity. The dependent variable was current smoking status (never smoked vs smoking one or more cigarettes per month).


RESULTS
Whites were significantly more likely than African Americans to smoke cigarettes. There was a main effect of education and lunch at reduced or no cost on cigarette smoking. Mean education by zip code was inversely associated with cigarette smoking, and lunch at reduced or no cost was directly associated with cigarette smoking. There was a significant interaction between income and ethnicity. Median income by zip code was directly associated with cigarette smoking among African Americans.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that smoking prevention efforts in this population should take both socioeconomic status and ethnicity into account.
Scarinci
Isabel C
IC
University of Memphis Center for Community Health, 5350 Poplar Ave., Suite 675, Memphis, TN 38119, USA. iscrncsr@memphis.edu
Robinson
Leslie A
LA
Alfano
Catherine M
CM
Zbikowski
Susan M
SM
Klesges
Robert C
RC
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012923:Social Class; D013714:Tennessee / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data