| Learning Objective #1: Identify significant predictors of tobacco use in Arab-American 9th graders using the Arab-American Tobacco Use Model (AA-TUM) | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify strategies to increase the effectiveness of community-based research |
Tobacco use in Arab American adults is among the highest in the world (WHO, 1999); less is known about tobacco rates in Arab American teens. The Detroit metropolitan area is a major port of entry from the Middle East making identification of prevalence and predictors for tobacco use among Arab American youth important. DESIGN: This randomized, community-based, clinical trial is designed to determine tobacco use patterns and forces that contribute to tobacco use. METHOD: A convenience sample of 1372 Arab American 14-18 year olds participated in phase I of the trial. The sample is 54% male; average age 15.7 years (SD = 1.18); 61% percent immigrants. Twenty-three percent report one or more friends who smoked, this increased with age (p = .0001). Self-reported cigarette smoking was related to age (p < .0001); from 1% at age 14 to 12% at age 18; 24.8% reported using the narghile (water pipe). RESULTS: Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine 24 predictors in the Arab American Tobacco Use Model (AA-TUM). Except for father smoking and being born in the USA, all predictors were significantly correlated to one or more of the outcome variables (‘Used tobacco in the past 30 days’, ‘Ever Used tobacco’, and ‘Risk for Habituation’). Largest correlations were with ‘one or more close friends smoke’, ‘one or more tobacco offers by family or friends’, ‘depression’, and ‘low self-esteem’. Youth with one or more close friends who smoked were 3.72 times more likely to contemplate smoking in the future, 6.08 times more likely to have used tobacco in the past 30 days, and 3.2 times more likely to have experimented with cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Peer and family tobacco use are powerful predictors of Arab American adolescent tobacco use and point the way for well-designed tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
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