title: Cultural capital and smoking in young adults: applying new indicators to explore social inequalities in health behaviour.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Associations between social status and health behaviours are well documented, but the mechanisms involved are less understood. Cultural capital theory may contribute to a better understanding by expanding the scope of inequality indicators to include individuals' knowledge, skills, beliefs and material goods to examine how these indicators impact individuals' health lifestyles. We explore the structure and applicability of a set of cultural capital indicators in the empirical exploration of smoking behaviour among young male adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed data from the Swiss Federal Survey of Adolescents (CH-X) 2010-11 panel of young Swiss males (n = 10 736). A set of nine theoretically relevant variables (including incorporated, institutionalized and objectified cultural capital) were investigated using exploratory factor analysis. Regression models were run to observe the association between factor scores and smoking outcomes. Outcome measures consisted of daily smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked by daily smokers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cultural capital indicators aggregated in a three-factor solution representing 'health values', 'education and knowledge' and 'family resources'. Each factor score predicted the smoking outcomes. In young males, scoring low on health values, education and knowledge and family resources was associated with a higher risk of being a daily smoker and of smoking more cigarettes daily.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cultural capital measures that include, but go beyond, educational attainment can improve prediction models of smoking in young male adults. New measures of cultural capital may thus contribute to our understanding of the social status-based resources that individuals can use towards health behaviours.
authors: 1 Université de Montréal, École de Santé Publique, Institut de recherche en santé publique de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3N 1X7, Canada thierry.gagne@umontreal.ca.
authors: Thierry
authors: T
authors: Gagné
authors: 1 Université de Montréal, École de Santé Publique, Institut de recherche en santé publique de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3N 1X7, Canada.
authors: Katherine L
authors: KL
authors: Frohlich
authors: 2 University of Bern, Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Abel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D004522:Educational Status; D005190:Family; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult