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Childhood social disadvantage and smoking in adulthood: results of a 25‐year longitudinal study
Author(s) -
Fergusson David M.,
Horwood L. John,
Boden Joseph M.,
Jenkin Gabrielle
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0965-2140
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01729.x
Subject(s) - disadvantage , psychology , longitudinal study , educational attainment , developmental psychology , cohort , socioeconomic status , early childhood , young adult , family income , demography , medicine , environmental health , population , pathology , sociology , political science , law , economics , economic growth
ABSTRACT Aim To examine the associations between exposure to socio‐economic disadvantage in childhood and smoking in adulthood. Design A 25‐year longitudinal study of the health, development and adjustment of a birth cohort of 1265 New Zealand children. Measurements Assessments of childhood socio‐economic disadvantage, smoking in adulthood and potential mediating pathways, including: parental education, family socio‐economic status, family living standards and family income; smoking frequency and nicotine dependence at age 25 years; child IQ, educational achievement by age 18 years, conduct problems ages 14–16 years, parental smoking 0–16 years and peer smoking at 16 years. Findings Smoking at age 25 was correlated significantly ( P < 0.0001) with increasing childhood socio‐economic disadvantage. Further, indicators of childhood socio‐economic disadvantage were correlated significantly ( P < 0.0001) with the intervening variables of childhood intelligence, school achievement, conduct problems and exposure to parental and peer smoking; which in turn were correlated significantly ( P < 0.0001) with measures of smoking at age 25. Structural equation modelling suggested that the linkages between the latent factor of childhood disadvantage and later smoking were explained largely by a series of pathways involving cognitive/educational factors, adolescent behavioural adjustment and exposure to parental and peer smoking. Conclusions The current study suggested that smoking in adulthood is influenced by childhood socio‐economic disadvantage via the mediating pathways of cognitive/educational factors, adolescent behaviour and parental and peer smoking.