Original article
High-risk behaviors associated with early smoking: results from a 5-year follow-up

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(00)00202-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose: To compare grade 7 nonsmokers, experimenters, and smokers on the basis of prevalence of other problem behaviors at both grade 7 and grade 12.

Methods: Based on longitudinal self-report data from 4327 California and Oregon students, we used logistic regression to develop weighted estimates of the prevalence of academic difficulties, substance use, and delinquent behavior within the three smoking status groups at grades 7 and 12. Huber variance estimates, which adjust for weighting and clustering of observations, were used to assess the statistical significance of differences across groups.

Results: Compared with nonsmokers, early smokers were at least 3 times more likely by grade 12 to regularly use tobacco and marijuana, use hard drugs, sell drugs, have multiple drug problems, drop out of school, and experience early pregnancy and parenthood. These adolescents were also at higher risk for low academic achievement and behavioral problems at school, stealing and other delinquent behaviors, and use of predatory and relational violence. Early experimenters were at significantly greater risk for these problems as well, although to a lesser extent than smokers. Importantly, the higher risk among experimenters and smokers of experiencing many of these problems was evident as early as grade 7.

Conclusions: Early experimenters and smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience various problem behaviors by grade 12, with many of these problems evident as early as grade 7. Results suggest that substance use programs that target multiple problems in addition to smoking may be most effective for these high-risk adolescents.

Section snippets

Participants

This secondary data analysis uses longitudinal survey data from a sample of 6527 students recruited from 30 California and Oregon schools at grade 7 and assessed again at grade 12 (1985 and 1990, respectively). These adolescents participated in the RAND Adolescent Panel Study, conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Project ALERT drug use prevention program for middle school children (11). The schools were chosen to represent a wide range of community types (urban, suburban, and rural),

Prevalence and profiles of early nonsmokers, experimenters, and smokers

In 7th grade, 46% of adolescents were classified as “nonsmokers,” 32% as “experimenters,” and 22% as “smokers” (weighted percentages). Boys were more likely than girls to be experimenters (37% vs. 27%), but girls were more likely than boys to be smokers (24% vs. 19.4%).

Table 1 shows the weighted percentages of “nonsmokers,” “experimenters,” and “smokers” who exhibited other problem behaviors at grade 7. By middle school, smokers were consistently more likely than nonsmokers to have a variety of

Discussion

Results from this study indicate that early smokers are at higher risk than nonsmokers for a wide range of problem behaviors. Compared with nonsmokers, early smokers at grade 7 were more likely to have academic problems, engage in other types of substance use, and engage in delinquent behavior (stealing). Consistent with previous research (3), the strongest differences between smokers and nonsmokers tended to occur for other types of substance use. Although the behavioral gap between early

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    This research was supported by National Cancer Institute grant R01CA80287.

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