Gender differences in risk factors for cigarette smoking initiation in childhood.
INTRODUCTION
We investigated whether established risk factors for initiating cigarette smoking during adolescence (parents, siblings, friends smoke; home smoking rules, smokers at home, exposure to smoking in cars, academic performance, susceptibility to smoking, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, school connectedness, use of other tobacco products) are associated with initiation in preadolescents, and whether the effects of these factors differ by gender.


METHODS
In spring 2005, baseline data were collected in self-report questionnaires from 1801 5th grade students including 1553 never-smokers (mean age=10.7years), in the longitudinal AdoQuest I Study in Montréal, Canada. Follow-up data were collected in the fall and spring of 6th grade (2005-2006). Poisson regression analyses with robust variance estimated the effects of each risk factor on initiation and additive interactions with gender were computed to assess the excess risk of each risk factor in girls compared to boys.


RESULTS
101 of 1399 participants in the analytic sample (6.7% of boys; 7.7% of girls) initiated smoking during follow-up. After adjustment for age, gender and maternal education, all risk factors except academic performance and school connectedness were statistically significantly associated with initiation. Paternal and sibling smoking were associated with initiation in girls only, and girls with lower self-esteem had a significant excess risk of initiating smoking in 6th grade.


CONCLUSIONS
Risk factors for smoking initiation in preadolescents mirror those in adolescents; their effects do not differ markedly by gender. Preventive programs targeting children should focus on reducing smoking in the social environment and the dangers of poly-tobacco use.
['Sylvestre|Marie-Pierre|MP|', 'Wellman|Robert J|RJ|', "O'Loughlin|Erin K|EK|", 'Dugas|Erika N|EN|', "O'Loughlin|Jennifer|J|"]
D017668:Age of Onset D002648:Child D000073865:Cigarette Smoking D004522:Educational Status D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007398:Interpersonal Relations D008297:Male D010287:Parent-Child Relations D010290:Parents D011446:Prospective Studies D011792:Quebec D012307:Risk Factors D012649:Self Concept D017678:Sex Distribution
Gender Risk factors Cigarette smoking Smoking initiation Children