Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

536

Date

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Psychology

Concentration

General Psychology

Committee Chair

Leslie Ann Robinson

Committee Member

James G. Murphy

Committee Member

Kenneth D. Ward

Abstract

Previous research has shown that African American teens are less likely to smoke than Caucasian teens, but prevalance of smoking among African American adults is nearly equal that of Caucasian adults. These findings suggest African Americans may increase their uptake of tobacco later in life. One variable that may contribute to the increase in smoking is stress. The current study sought to explore ethnic differences in the amount of stress as well as in the strength of the association of stress with smoking among African Amercian vs. Caucasian youth. This cross-sectional study examined 4,443 high school students recruited from the Memphis Health Project, a 10 year longitudinal study of smoking. Participants self reported general life stress. Our results suggested that among Caucasian adolescents, self-reported stress levels were higher, but stress was not predictive of smoking. However, among African Americans, higher stress was associated with a greater likelihood of smoking.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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