Assessing Risk Perceptions of Flavored Small Cigars/Cigarillos Among Young Adults

描述：控烟界对年轻成年吸烟者如何形成对加味小雪茄和雪茄(LCC)的风险认知知之甚少，研究人员认为这是了解如何为监管政策和预防方法提供信息的关键。为了准确地确定风险认知，迫切需要敏感和可靠的措施。长期目标是开发健康交流干预措施，寻求改变LCC吸烟的风险认知，以防止在不同种族的年轻人中开始吸烟。这项拟议的研究试图通过开发一种预测工具来填补知识空白，该工具可以识别LCC风险认知并预测年轻成年吸烟者的LCC启动行为(即易感性/吸烟意图)。我们的初步数据显示，年轻的成年吸烟者支持对LCC吸烟的积极态度、规范信念和自我效能。我们有早期的指标表明，这些吸烟者认可LCC吸烟的低感知风险(即，LCC比香烟危害更小)。我们的中心假设是LCC风险知觉在态度/规范/自我效能和易感性/意图之间起中介作用。我们提出了三个具体目标来验证我们的假设：(1)使用定性的方法来诱导青少年吸烟者的信念、情感、 (2)开发新的LCC风险感知量表；以及(3)确定哪些因素预测LCC的易感性/吸烟意向。在第一个目标下，我们将进行12个焦点小组(n=8-10个/组)，以引出这些信念，这将为目标2中描述的量表构建提供参考。在目标2下，我们将根据目标1的定性结果修改现有的烟草风险感知量表，并在年轻成年吸烟者中对该量表进行认知测试。在3岁以下，我们将在全国18-34岁吸烟者(N=900)的概率样本中进行在线调查，并使用探索性结构方程模型(ESEM)来验证我们的假设。这项拟议的项目将具有重大意义，因为它有望帮助烟草控制监管科学家和政策制定者了解年轻成年吸烟者对加味LCC的风险的思考和应对方式。

DESCRIPTION: The tobacco control community knows very little about how young adult cigarette smokers form risk perceptions of flavored little cigars and cigarillos (LCC), which researchers believe are key to understanding how to inform regulatory policy as well as prevention methods. In order to accurately determine risk perceptions, sensitive and reliable measures are urgently needed. The long-term goal is to develop health communication interventions that seek to modify risk perceptions of LCC smoking to prevent its initiation among ethnically diverse young adults. The proposed research seeks to fill a knowledge gap by developing a prognostic tool that identifies LCC risk perceptions and predicts LCC initiation behaviors (i.e. susceptibility/intention to smoke) among young adult cigarette smokers. Our preliminary data show that young adult smokers endorse positive attitudes, normative beliefs and self-efficacy toward LCC smoking. We have early indicators that suggest these smokers endorse low perceived risks (i.e., LCC are less harmful than cigarettes) of LCC smoking. Our central hypothesis is that LCC risk perceptions mediate the relationship between attitudes/norms/self-efficacy and susceptibility/intention. We propose 3 specific aims to test our hypothesis: (1) Use qualitative methods to elicit young adult cigarette smokers' beliefs, feelings, and knowledge about flavored LCCs and their risks; (2) To develop a new LCC risk perception scale; and (3) To determine what factors predict LCC susceptibility /intention to smoke. Under the first aim, we will conduct 12 focus groups (n= 8-10/group) to elicit these beliefs, which will inform the scale construction described in Aim 2. Under Aim 2, we will modify an extant tobacco risk perception scale with qualitative findings from Aim 1 and conduct cognitive testing on the scale among a sample of young adult cigarette smokers. Under 3, we will conduct an online survey among a national probability sample of 18-34 year old cigarette smokers (N=900) and use exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to test our hypotheses. The proposed project will be significant because it is expected to help tobacco control regulatory scientists an policy makers understand the ways in which young adult cigarette smokers think about and respond to risks about flavored LCCs.