Acculturation as a Risk Factor for Smoking Among Asian American Adolescents

ABSTRACT Background. Acculturation to the United States is associated with tobacco use among Asian American adolescents. Previous studies have not controlled for the possible confounding effects of national origin. Methods. This study analyzed data from statewide surveys of 2093 Asian-American 10th grade California adolescents. Logistic regression analyses evaluated the independent effects of nationality and acculturation on past-month smoking. Results. Consistent with previous studies, acculturation was a risk factor for smoking. When nationality was added to the model, acculturation became nonsignificant and nationality became significant. Differences in smoking prevalence across groups were due to low smoking rates among Vietnamese-American and Chinese-American students and higher rates among Korean-American and Japanese-American students. Within each national subgroup, acculturation was not associated significantly with smoking. Conclusions. Research on acculturation and smoking among Asian-American adolescents should consider national origin.