title: Misestimation of peer tobacco use: understanding disparities in tobacco use.
abstract: Blacks experience disproportionately elevated rates of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. Blacks experience delayed smoking initiation relative to other racial/ethnic groups, highlighting the importance of examining smoking correlates occurring in late adolescence/early adulthood. The current study reports data collected as part of an ongoing collaborative effort to assess alcohol and drug use on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Two-thousand, two-hundred, seventy-seven African-American subjects, aged 20.3 +/- 3.9 (range 18-53), completed the CORE Alcohol and Drug survey and a brief demographic questionnaire. Results indicated that 90% of all subjects overestimated the rate of smoking among their peers. Overestimating was associated with a > 80% increase in the risk of smoking. These data highlight the need to correct misinformation regarding smoking norms among students at some HBCUs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA. christopher.edwards@duke.edu
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Gary G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: Kathleen Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Wolin
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Sherrye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: Keith E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Whitfield
authors.forename: Sandy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Askew
authors.forename: Dorene
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: MacKinnon
authors.forename: Camela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McDougald
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.forename: Chanté
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wellington
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feliu
authors.forename: Elwood
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010379:Peer Group; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities