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Patterns of Tobacco Use and Related Protective Factors Among Somali Youth in the United States

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Abstract

Anti-smoking norms and educational aspirations are established tobacco prevention targets for general United States (U.S.) adolescent populations but protective factors remain poorly characterized for Somali-American youth. Here we describe patterns of past 30-day tobacco use and associated protective factors among eighth, ninth, and eleventh grade Somali adolescent respondents (n = 2009) to the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey using multivariate logistic regressions. E-cigarette (5.7%) and hookah (5.0%) use were most prevalent. Male youth reported higher levels of tobacco use across products. Adjusted odds ratios showed that internal developmental assets (e.g., e-cigarettes aOR 0.37, 95% CI 0.37, 0.79) and parental anti-smoking norms (e.g., e-cigarettes aOR 0.19, 95% CI 0.09, 0.38) protected against use of all tobacco products. E-cigarettes and hookah are prevalent among U.S. Somali youth, highlighting the need for prevention efforts that address emerging tobacco products and leverage protective factors such as internal assets and parental anti-smoking norms.

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Acknowledgements

Public school students in Minnesota provided Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) data via local public school districts and data are managed by the MSS Interagency Team. This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under National Research Service Award (NRSA) in Primary Medical Care. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S.

Funding

This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under National Research Service Award (NRSA) in Primary Medical Care, Grant Number T32HP22239 (PI: Borowsky), Bureau of Health Workforce.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, 717 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    April K. Wilhelm, Michael J. Parks & Marla E. Eisenberg

  2. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Program in Health Disparities Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, 717 Delaware St. SE, Suite 166, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    Michele L. Allen

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  1. April K. Wilhelm
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Correspondence to April K. Wilhelm.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval of Research Involving Human Participants

This is a retrospective analysis of secondary data collected through the 2016 MSS. The University of Minnesota’s Institutional Review Board approved this study after expedited review.

Informed Consent

Informed assent was obtained from all individual student MSS respondents. Parents of students completing the MSS in school were notified in advance of the survey completion date in school and had the option to opt their child out of participation or review the survey questions prior to their child’s participation.

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Wilhelm, A.K., Parks, M.J., Eisenberg, M.E. et al. Patterns of Tobacco Use and Related Protective Factors Among Somali Youth in the United States. J Immigrant Minority Health 23, 103–112 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-01013-6

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