Sexual minority status, school-based violence, and current tobacco use among youth.
Tob Prev Cessat 2022;
8:46. [PMID:
36568487 PMCID:
PMC9753573 DOI:
10.18332/tpc/156110]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Sexual minority individuals experience elevated risk for smoking and violence due to a combination of general and unique identity-based risk factors. This study examined associations among sexual minority status, school-based violence, and tobacco use, among youth.
METHODS
Data for this secondary data analysis consisted of Chicago-specific data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (n=1562). Current use (≥1 day during the previous 30 days) of any tobacco product (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars) and school-based violence (avoided school because they felt unsafe, were threatened/injured with a weapon, were in a physical fight, and were bullied) were estimated by sexual orientation (heterosexual vs gay, lesbian, bisexual, and unsure). A chi-squared test was used to investigate associations among the variables. Path analysis was employed to examine possible mediation effects of school-based violence.
RESULTS
Thirty percent of sexual minority youth and 11.5% of heterosexual youth reported current tobacco use (χ2=55.91; p<0.001). Nearly one-third (31.8%) of youth reported school-based violence, with a higher rate (41.2%) reported by sexual minority youth compared to heterosexual youth (28.1%; χ2=19.48; p<0.001). Path analysis confirmed these associations, controlling for sex, age, and race/ethnicity. The model showed that sexual minority status increased odds of current tobacco use by a factor of 1.8 (95% CI: 1.3-2.6) via its relationship with school-based violence, explaining 33.8% of the total association between sexual minority status and tobacco use.
CONCLUSIONS
Tobacco use was higher among sexual minority youth. School-based violence partially mediated the association between sexual minority status and tobacco use. Findings highlight the need for tobacco prevention and treatment efforts for sexual minority youth and school-based interventions to reduce exposure to violence.
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