Psychosocial stressors and cigarette smoking among African American adults in midlife.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Introduction
Psychosocial stress is a significant risk factor for smoking, and Blacks experience higher levels of psychosocial stress relative to other racial/ethnic groups. Limited research has comprehensively examined psychosocial stressors in relation to smoking among Blacks.Methods
We examined psychosocial stressors in relation to smoking status (current, previous, and never) in middle-aged Blacks (34-85 years, n = 592) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a subset of the Midlife in the United States Study II (2004-2006). Eleven stressor domains were assessed, including psychological and physical work stress, work-family conflict, perceived inequality, relationship stress, neighborhood stress, discrimination, financial stress, recent problems, stressful events, and childhood adversity. We also calculated a cumulative score. Multinomial models were adjusted for age, gender, education, and income.Results
Seven of the 11 stressors and the cumulative score were associated with higher odds of being a current smoker compared with a never-smoker: neighborhood, financial, relationship, and psychological work stress, perceived inequality, stressful events, childhood adversity (p values <.05; ORs ranged from 1.28 to 1.77). Three stressors and the cumulative score were associated with higher odds of being a previous smoker versus a never-smoker (p < .05). Individuals who scored in the top quartile on 5 or more stressors were 3.74 (95% CI = 2.09-6.71) times as likely to be current smokers, and more than twice as likely to be previous smokers, compared with individuals with no high stressors.Conclusions
These results demonstrate a strong relationship between stress and smoking among urban middle-aged Blacks and suggest that cessation programs should address modifiable individual and community-level stressors.Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Slopen, N; Dutra, LM; Williams, DR; Mujahid, MS; Lewis, TT; Bennett, GG; Ryff, CD; Albert, MA
Published Date
- October 2012
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 14 / 10
Start / End Page
- 1161 - 1169
PubMed ID
- 22367977
Pubmed Central ID
- 22367977
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1469-994X
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1462-2203
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1093/ntr/nts011
Language
- eng