Epidemiology of tobacco use among Jordanian youth; Psychosocial determinants
Description
Statement of the problem. Smoking is a growing public health problem in Jordan. Effective interventions must be designed using local data to determine psychosocial determinants of smoking behaviors. Using two representative samples of Jordanian youth, the current analysis will determine whether the Western models of psychosocial factors apply to this population and will further the understanding of the dynamics of smoking behaviors and the factors associated with smoking initiation/progression among youth Methods. Two nationally representative samples of Jordanian youth were utilized from the 2005 Communication Partnership for Family Health (CPFH) baseline cross-sectional survey (N=936) and the 2003 Jordan Global Youth Tobacco Survey (JGYTS) (N=6,313). Measures included smoking behaviors, socio-demographics, exposure/receptivity to tobacco media, and perceived social benefits of smoking. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to model the relationship of socio-demographic and psychosocial factors to smoking behaviors Results. Findings from the CPHF survey indicate that maternal education and paternal smoking were significantly associated with youth smoking status. Maternal smoking, socioeconomic status (SES) and the presence of a household smoke-free area were not significant predictors of youth smoking status The JGYTS study showed significant adjusted effects of receptivity to tobacco media and perceived social benefits of smoking on smoking susceptibility among males and females. Ever smoking was significantly associated with receptivity to tobacco media, exposure to tobacco media messages, exposure to school tobacco control activities and perceived social benefits. Exposure to school tobacco control activities demonstrated a protective effect against ever smoking. Significant adjusted effects of receptivity to tobacco media (among males only), exposure to tobacco media messages and the perceived social benefits of smoking were detected on 30-day smoking. The findings indicate that perceived social benefit of smoking partially mediates the association of exposure to tobacco media and smoking behaviors and the association of friend smoking status and smoking behaviors Conclusions. The seriousness of the tobacco epidemic among Jordanian youth highlights the need for effective intervention prevention efforts targeting smoking. Early prevention programs and targeting efforts need to be culturally tailored, gender specific, multidimensional, and challenge the cultural perceptions of smokers among Jordanian youth