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Psychosocial Correlates of Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Indiana Adolescents

Journal of Community Health volume 40, pages 208–214 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Adolescent tobacco use is influenced by intrapersonal (e.g., impulse control) and external factors, such as behaviors of friends and peers. The relationships of these factors to smokeless tobacco (ST) use are not yet fully understood. This is especially true as it pertains to the simultaneous examination of psychological and normative perceptions. Using constructs of the Biopsychosocial Model, this study investigates factors associated with lifetime ST use among middle and high school students. Data were analyzed from 938 Indiana middle and high school students. Binary sequential logistic regression was performed to examine the relationship of personal characteristics and psychosocial measures to adolescent lifetime ST use. Approximately 9 % reported having ever used ST, among which 78.6 % were male. Females and younger students were less likely to have used ST in their lifetime, whereas participants with a sibling smoker and those who compared their life to the lives of others were more likely to report lifetime ST usage. In the presence of psychological and normative variables, sex, age, and comparing one’s life to others remained significant. Additionally, participants who perceived higher friend approval of substance use were significantly more likely to report lifetime ST use. Understanding the normative perceptions of adolescents may lend insight into the drivers of ST use adolescent subgroups and, which may enable community and school officials to tailor interventions to prevent ST initiation and promote cessation.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, University of Georgia College of Public Health, 330 River Road, 315 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Matthew Lee Smith

  2. Department of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences, Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, 1266 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Brian Colwell, Jairus C. Pulczinski & E. Lisako J. McKyer

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Georgia College of Public Health, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Chanese A. Forté

  4. Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, TAMU 4243, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    E. Lisako J. McKyer

Authors
  1. Matthew Lee Smith
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  2. Brian Colwell
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  3. Chanese A. Forté
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  4. Jairus C. Pulczinski
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  5. E. Lisako J. McKyer
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Correspondence to Matthew Lee Smith.

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Smith, M.L., Colwell, B., Forté, C.A. et al. Psychosocial Correlates of Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Indiana Adolescents. J Community Health 40, 208–214 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9918-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9918-7

Keywords

  • Smokeless tobacco
  • Spit tobacco
  • Adolescent
  • Biopsychosocial