title: Social capital and smoking among Asian American men: an exploratory study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined how different dimensions of social capital (i.e., family and friend connections, neighborhood and family cohesion, family conflict) were associated with smoking behavior among a nationally representative sample of Asian American men and whether the associations varied by ethnic group.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 998 adult Asian American men who participated in the National Latino and Asian American Survey from 2002 to 2003. We conducted weighted multivariate logistic regressions on data for the sample and for each of 4 ethnic subgroups (Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Other).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vietnamese American men had the highest prevalence of current smoking; Chinese American men, the lowest. After controlling for sociodemographics, socioeconomic status, acculturation, and perceived discrimination, neighborhood cohesion was inversely associated with smoking among Asian American men, and family and friend connections and family cohesion were not. An exception was family cohesion, which was associated with increased odds of smoking among Filipino American men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relationship between social capital and smoking among Asian American men varied according to specific dimensions of social capital and was ethnicity specific. These findings highlight the need for smoking prevention and cessation interventions to take into consideration the heterogeneity that exists among Asian Americans.
authors.affiliation: Center for Study of Asian American Health, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA. Shijian.Li@nyumc.org
authors.forename: Shijian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Delva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult