Cross-Sectional Associations of Self-Reported Social/Emotional Support and Life Satisfaction with Smoking and Vaping Status in Adults

Social support in a large general population sample over the course of six years

Social support is an important resource that is assumed to buffer the effect of stressful events on health. The aims of this study were to test psychometric properties of the ENRICHD Social Support Instrument (ESSI), to investigate the impact of several sociodemographic and behavioral variables on social support, and to analyze changes in social support over a 6-year period. A sample of 9,681 people from the general population was examined at baseline, 4,987 of whom were surveyed at a follow-up examination six years later using the ESSI and several other questionnaires. The psychometric properties of the ESSI were good (Cronbach's α = 0.91) and measurement invariance across gender and age could be established. High socioeconomic status, sharing a household with others, and employment resulted in high levels of social support. Tobacco smokers and alcohol drinkers reported having less social support than nonsmokers and non-drinkers. During the 6-year period, the mean level of social support remained nearly unchanged (d = 0.01). The data provide a framework for the interpretation and comparison of social support with other clinical and nonclinical populations. Public health initiatives should aim to prevent social isolation to improve public health.

Association of Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Self-Esteem with E-Cigarette Use Among U.S. College-Aged Young Adults

BACKGROUND

Given that college life is a major life-changing and stressful event for many young adults, they may use e-cigarettes to manage their stress, which in the long run could be detrimental to their health. Furthermore, perceived social support and self-esteem are important factors that might influence young adults' e-cigarette use behavior. This cross-sectional study examines the associations of perceived stress, social support, and self-esteem with e-cigarette use among U.S. college-aged young adults.

METHODS

Students (aged 18-24 years, n = 220) attending Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania between February-May 2023 were recruited to complete an online survey. The outcome variables were current (past 30 days) and ever e-cigarette users, while the explanatory variables were perceived stress, perceived social support, self-esteem, and socio-demographics. Data was analyzed using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models.

RESULTS

About 30.1% and 55.0% of participants were current users and ever users of e-cigarettes, respectively. Participants who perceived high stress (vs. low stress) were 12.4 (Adjusted Odds ratio (aOR) = 12.39, p = 0.02) and 7.4 (aOR = 7.37, p = 0.04) times more likely to be current users and ever users of e-cigarettes, respectively. For every one-unit increase in self-esteem score, the likelihood of participants being current e-cigarette users decreased by 7% (OR = 0.93, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Perceived stress and self-esteem are significantly associated with e-cigarette use among college-aged young adults. Public health efforts should focus on stress reduction, healthy coping strategies, and improving self-esteem in order to prevent e-cigarette use among this population.

Relationship between social support, life satisfaction, and smoking status among US adults with cardiovascular risks

Social support and life satisfaction are important determinants of health behaviors and health outcomes. Cigarette smoking, a health risk behavior that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, is deemed to have association with perceived social support and life satisfaction. This study assessed this relationship among US adults with one or more cardiovascular (CV) risks, namely, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. Using nationally representative data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey on 17,557 adults with at least one CV risk, we examined whether individuals with low life-satisfaction and weak social-support were more likely to smoke compared to those with high life-satisfaction and strong social support. At different levels of social support (strong and weak), the odds of smoking were higher among individuals with low level of life satisfaction. Likewise, at different levels of life satisfaction (high, medium, and low), smoking prevalence was the highest among individuals with weak social support. Estimates of the multivariable logistic regressions, with controls for various demographic and socioeconomic correlates, suggested that the adjusted odds of current smoking for individuals with low life-satisfaction and weak social-support were 3.07 (95% CI: 2.34, 4.03) times that of individuals with high life-satisfaction and strong social support. This association was robust across all four CV risk factors, and across different sociodemographic (i.e., sex, age, race and ethnicity) and socioeconomic (i.e., income, urban/rural residence) sub-groups.

Perceived discrimination as a mediator between cultural identity and mental health symptoms among racial/ethnic minority adults in the United States: insights from the Health Information National Trends Survey 6

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the role of perceived discrimination as a mediator between cultural identity and mental health symptoms among adults from racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States.

METHODS

Data were gathered from the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 6, a nationally representative survey. The mediating role of perceived discrimination was investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.

RESULTS

The study found significant associations between demographic and lifestyle factors and mental health symptoms. Non-Hispanic Blacks or African Americans and Hispanics were less likely than Non-Hispanic Whites to have mental health symptoms. Individuals between the ages of 35 and 49, 50 to 64, 65 to 74, and 75 and older had lower odds of mental health symptoms. Gender differences revealed that females had a higher risk of mental health issues than males. Socioeconomic factors, such as household income and employment status, played a significant role, with higher household income and employment status being associated with a decreased likelihood of mental health symptoms. The study emphasizes the role of perceived discrimination as a mediator, suggesting that it fully mediated the association between cultural identity and mental health symptoms. These findings highlight the significance of addressing discrimination experiences in fostering the mental health of adults from diverse backgrounds.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the need to take racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities, as well as cultural identity and prejudice, into account in mental health research and interventions. The identified risk and protective factors can guide interventions and policies to enhance this population's mental health.

Sociodemographic Aspects and Healthy Behaviors Associated With Perceived Life Satisfaction in Health Professionals

BACKGROUND

Life satisfaction is a determining factor for the improvement of mental and physical health. Health care workers are a vulnerable population to suffer alterations in the factors that affect life satisfaction. Determining the influence of these factors on quality of life is important for their proper management.

OBJECTIVE

To examine sociodemographic factors and healthy behaviors influencing life satisfaction in Peruvian professionals.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 506 health care workers, who had a mean age of 40.34 years (SD = 10.39). A sociodemographic questionnaire, sleep quality, physical activity, eating habits, and life satisfaction were used. A regression model was fitted with the life satisfaction variable as the dependent variable.

RESULTS

In multivariable analysis, age (β = -.938, P < .01) and perception of poor health status (β = -4.743, P < .001) were found to be associated with lower life satisfaction. On the other hand, higher university education level (β = 1.667, P < .001), absence of smoking (β = 3.202, P < .01), absence of depressive symptoms (β = 3.390, P < .001), interest in daily activities (β = 3.503, P < .05), good sleep quality (β = 1.027, P < .01), a high frequency of physical activity (β = 1.056, P < .01), and healthy eating are variables associated with higher life satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Sociodemographic aspects such as age and the perception of poor health are associated with lower life satisfaction. On the other hand, healthy behaviors such as absence of smoking, absence of depressive symptoms, interest in daily activities, good quality of sleep, high frequency of physical activity, and a healthy diet were associated with higher life satisfaction.

The relationship between smoking frequency and life satisfaction: Mediator of self-rated health (SRH)

BACKGROUND

It is well-established that smoking is associated with life satisfaction. However, much less is known about how smoking frequency is related to life satisfaction and if self-rated health (SRH) mediates such a relationship. This is important to understand because life satisfaction is related to a lot of outcomes such as morbidity and mortality. The aim of the current study is to test whether smoking frequency relates to life satisfaction via SRH pathway.

METHOD

Data were extracted from Wave 7 (collected between 2015 and 2016), Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). After removing non-smokers and participants with missing variables of interest, 5, 519 smokers out of 39, 293 participants remained for further analysis. Correlation coefficients were calculated between smoking frequency, SRH, and life satisfaction. Mediation analysis was performed by taking smoking frequency as the predictor, SRH as the mediator, life satisfaction as the outcome variable, and demographics as covariates using the mediation toolbox on MATLAB 2018a with 10000 bootstrap sample significance testing (https://github.com/canlab/MediationToolbox).

RESULTS

The current study found a negative correlation between smoking frequency and life satisfaction [r = -0.09, 95% C.I (-0.12, -0.06), p < 0.001] and between smoking frequency and SRH [r = -0.17, 95% C.I (-0.14, -0.19), p < 0.001], and a positive correlation between SRH and life satisfaction [r = 0.44, 95% C.I (0.41, 0.46), p < 0.001]. Results from the mediation analysis revealed that there is a significant effect of Path a [i.e., smoking frequency to SRH; β = -0.02, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (-0.02, -0.02)], Path b [SRH to life satisfaction; β = 0.68, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (0.66, 0.69)], Path c' [direct effect; β = -0.01, p < 0.01, 95% C.I. (0.66, 0.69)], Path c [total effect; β =-0.02, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (-0.02, -0.02)], and Path a^*b [mediation effect; β = -0.01, p < 0.001, 95% C.I. (-0.01, -0.014)].

CONCLUSION

SRH partially mediated the negative relationship between smoking frequency and life satisfaction. Findings from the current study may imply that antismoking campaigns and pamphlets are needed to counter the promotion of smoking by the tobacco industry. Moreover, interventions are needed for current smokers to reduce their smoking frequency to improve their life satisfaction, which can promote life satisfaction and positive outcomes associated with better life satisfaction.