Tobacco Use Among Minority Youth: A Longitudinal Study

描述(申请人提供)：这是一份竞争性续签申请。这项纵向研究的总体目标是检查非裔美国人和波多黎各成人烟草使用和依赖的病因、决定因素和后果。样本(N=500)在四个时间点进行了访谈：青春期早期、青春期中期、青春期晚期和青春期。建议对平均年龄为32岁的参与者和他们的伴侣进行第五波数据收集，以完成以下工作：(1)检查人格(包括精神病理学)、家庭、同伴、生态和文化因素的相互关系和相互作用，因为它们影响烟草使用和依赖的过程(稳定性和变化性)；(2)研究长期烟草使用和依赖对成人精神病理学和功能的影响；以及(3)检查父母吸烟和对后代吸烟前体的依赖的影响，包括子女的外化、内化和父母对子女未来吸烟的期望。与以往一样，与成年人的单独面谈将由训练有素的面试者私下进行。具有足够的心理测量学特性的量表将从面试日程中开发出来，用于测量自变量。主要的分析技术将是因果分析、逻辑回归分析和增长混合建模。这项研究的意义在于其深入的个人内部和人际关系数据，可在发展的几个阶段。我们可以研究从青春期早期到成年的烟草使用和依赖的途径，以及烟草使用和依赖的过程，即受访者在17年的时间里或多或少参与烟草使用和依赖的相关因素。我们还可以检查与停止使用有关的因素。这种知识将有助于查明那些以后有可能使用和依赖烟草的青少年和青年，并将为预防和治疗提供详细和具体的指导方针。我们对非裔美国人和波多黎各人烟草使用和依赖后果的纵向研究是独一无二的，因为可以评估烟草使用和依赖的长期心理社会影响，以确定其影响是否是累积的。查明可能加剧烟草使用和依赖的后果对成年人心理社会功能的不利影响的青少年和青年因素，将为有效的预防和治疗努力提供必要的补充资料。这些发现将帮助医生、教育工作者和政策制定者提供健康的环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a competing continuation application. The overall goals of this longitudinal study are to examine the etiologic determinants and consequences of African-American and Puerto Rican adult tobacco use and dependence. The sample (N=500) was interviewed at four points in time: early adolescence, middle adolescence, late adolescence, and young adulthood. A fifth wave of data collection is proposed for the participants, who will be an average age of 32, and their partners, to accomplish the following: (1) examine interrelations and interactions of personality (including psychopathology), family, peer, ecological, and cultural factors as they affect the course of tobacco use and dependence over time (stability and change); (2) study the consequences of long-term tobacco use and dependence on adult psychopathology and functioning; and (3) examine the impact of parental tobacco use and dependence on precursors of offspring tobacco use, including offspring externalizing, internalizing, and parents' expectations of offspring's future smoking. As in the past, separate interviews with adults will be conducted in private by trained interviewers. Scales with adequate psychometric properties measuring the independent variables will be developed from the interview schedules. The primary analytic techniques will be causal analysis, logistic regression analysis, and growth mixture modeling. The significance of this study lies in its in-depth intrapersonal and interpersonal data available at several stages of development. We can examine the pathways to tobacco use and dependence from early adolescence through adulthood as well as the course of tobacco use and dependence overtime, i.e., the factors related to the respondent's becoming more or less involved in tobacco use and dependence over a span of 17 years. We can also examine the factors related to cessation of use. Such knowledge will help pinpoint those adolescents and young adults at risk for later tobacco use and dependence and will provide detailed and specific guidelines for prevention and treatment. Our longitudinal study of the consequences of tobacco use and dependence in African-Americans and Puerto Ricans is unique in that the long-term psychosocial effects of tobacco use and dependence can be evaluated to see if their impact is cumulative. Identification of adolescent and young adult factors that can exacerbate the adverse impact of the consequences of tobacco use and dependence on later adult psychosocial functioning will provide additional information necessary for effective prevention and treatment efforts. Findings will help physicians, educators, and policy makers provide healthy environments.