title: Does avoidant coping influence young adults' smoking?: a ten-year longitudinal study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Young adults who avoid their emotions may be at risk for starting smoking or not quitting smoking. This study investigated whether a preliminary measure of avoidant coping longitudinally predicts young adults' smoking escalation and cessation.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a sample of the 3,305 participants, originally from Washington State, a preliminary measure of self-reported avoidant coping at age 18 was used to predict both smoking escalation and cessation at ages 20 and 28 with both probability and logistic regression models (10-year retention: 98.5%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals who scored high on avoidant coping at 18 were 2.52 (p = .001) times more likely to acquire smoking by 20. However, there was no evidence that avoidant coping at age 18 predicted smoking escalation at 28 or cessation for 20- and 28-year-olds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An avoidant coping style may have a short-term effect on young adults' smoking acquisition. Future research using a precise and well-validated measure of avoidant coping is now needed to test this possibility.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109-1024, USA. jbricker@fhcrc.org
authors.forename: Jonathan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Bricker
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schiff
authors.forename: Bryan A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Comstock
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult