Article Open Access August 17, 2024

Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3, 4 and Hossein Zare 5, 6
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
3
Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
4
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
5
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
6
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), College Park, United States
Page(s): 44-59
Received
May 21, 2024
Revised
July 27, 2024
Accepted
August 16, 2024
Published
August 17, 2024
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Scientific Publications
Article metrics
Views
698
Downloads
80

Cite This Article

APA Style
Assari, S. , & Zare, H. (2024). Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation. Current Research in Public Health, 4(1), 44-59. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Zare, H. Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation. Current Research in Public Health 2024 4(1), 44-59. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, and Hossein Zare. 2024. "Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation". Current Research in Public Health 4, no. 1: 44-59. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032
AMA Style
Assari S, Zare H. Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation. Current Research in Public Health. 2024; 4(1):44-59. https://doi.org/10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032
@Article{crph1032,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {4},
YEAR = {2024},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {44-59},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/GJEID/article/view/1032},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032},
ABSTRACT = {Background: Recent research has identified structural racism—systemic policies and practices that perpetuate racial inequalities—as a significant social determinant of population health. Studies utilizing data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study have shown an association between higher levels of state-level structural racism and increased tobacco use among youth in the United States. However, there has been limited exploration of the psychosocial mediators of this relationship, particularly in the context of youth aged 10-16 years. Objective: This study aimed to assess the roles of socioeconomic status (SES), tobacco susceptibility, and perceived discrimination as potential mediators in the relationship between state-level structural racism and youth tobacco initiation rates. Methods: We analyzed data from the ABCD study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of 11,698 youth followed from ages 9/10 to 15/16. These data were combined with state-level indicators of structural racism. We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the mediators of the association between structural racism and self-reported initiation of tobacco use, while controlling for individual and state-level covariates. Results: Our findings indicate that higher levels of structural racism were associated with increased rates of tobacco initiation among youth. This relationship was partially mediated by lower SES, but not by perceived discrimination or tobacco susceptibility. Conclusion: The association between structural racism and youth tobacco initiation appears to be influenced in part by the lower SES prevalent in states with higher levels of racism. These results highlight the need for addressing both racism and SES inequalities as key strategies for reducing tobacco disparities among youth.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2024
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 4
%N 1
%P 44-59

%T Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation
%M doi:10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/GJEID/article/view/1032
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Assari, Shervin
AU  - Zare, Hossein
TI  - Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation
T2  - Current Research in Public Health
PY  - 2024
VL  - 4
IS  - 1
SN  - 2831-5162
SP  - 44
EP  - 59
UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/GJEID/article/view/1032
AB  - Background: Recent research has identified structural racism—systemic policies and practices that perpetuate racial inequalities—as a significant social determinant of population health. Studies utilizing data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study have shown an association between higher levels of state-level structural racism and increased tobacco use among youth in the United States. However, there has been limited exploration of the psychosocial mediators of this relationship, particularly in the context of youth aged 10-16 years. Objective: This study aimed to assess the roles of socioeconomic status (SES), tobacco susceptibility, and perceived discrimination as potential mediators in the relationship between state-level structural racism and youth tobacco initiation rates. Methods: We analyzed data from the ABCD study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of 11,698 youth followed from ages 9/10 to 15/16. These data were combined with state-level indicators of structural racism. We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the mediators of the association between structural racism and self-reported initiation of tobacco use, while controlling for individual and state-level covariates. Results: Our findings indicate that higher levels of structural racism were associated with increased rates of tobacco initiation among youth. This relationship was partially mediated by lower SES, but not by perceived discrimination or tobacco susceptibility. Conclusion: The association between structural racism and youth tobacco initiation appears to be influenced in part by the lower SES prevalent in states with higher levels of racism. These results highlight the need for addressing both racism and SES inequalities as key strategies for reducing tobacco disparities among youth.
DO  - Socioeconomic Status Partially Mediates the Effects of Structural Racism on Youth Tobacco Use Initiation
TI  - 10.31586/gjeid.2024.1032
ER  -