title: Multiple peer group self-identification and adolescent tobacco use.
abstract: Associations between peer group self-identification and smoking were examined among 2,698 ethnically diverse middle school students in Los Angeles who self-identified with groups such as Rockers, Skaters, and Gamers. The sample was 47.1% male, 54.7% Latino, 25.4% Asian, 10.8% White, 9.1% Other ethnicity, and 59.3% children of immigrant parents. Multiple group self-identification was common: 84% identified with two or more groups and 65% identified with three or more groups. Logistic regression analyses indicated that as students endorsed more high-risk groups, the greater their risk of tobacco use. A classification tree analysis identified risk groups based on interactions among ethnicity, gender, and group self-identification. Psychographic targeting based on group self-identification could be useful to design more relevant smoking prevention messages for adolescents who identify with high-risk peer groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Sociology, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, Pomona, California 91768, USA. jfuqua@csupomona.edu
authors.forename: Juliana L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fuqua
authors.forename: Peggy E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Gallaher
authors.forename: Jennifer B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.forename: Dennis R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Trinidad
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sussman
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: C Anderson
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012933:Social Identification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires