| Summary: | Introduction
One limitation of the minimum legal age (MLA) law, the primary
strategy for curbing youth smoking, is the rite-of-passage effect. Adulthood
experiences and the behavior of surrounding adults help build ‘adult identity’
among adolescents. We examined the individual association of adulthood
experience and joint association with significant adults who smoke with adolescent
cigarette smoking.
Methods
A nationally representative cross-sectional sample of 138542 South Korean
adolescents aged 12–18 years (mean: 15 years) from the 2014 and 2015 Korea
Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used. Adulthood markers used were tall stature,
precocious sexual development, independent living, and job experience. Parents
and teachers were considered significant adults. Logistic regression analyses and
relative risk due to interaction (RERI) calculations were conducted.
Results
Tall stature (OR=1.19; 95% CI: 1.08–1.31), precocious sexual development
(OR=1.51; 95% CI: 1.36–1.69), independent living (OR=1.24; 95% CI: 1.08–
1.43), and job experience (OR=4.38; 95% CI: 4.14–4.64) were associated with
cigarette smoking among study participants. Statistically significant additive
interactions were found for parental smoking and job experience (RERI=0.41;
95% CI: 0.06–0.76), teacher smoking and precocious development (RERI=0.71;
95% CI: 0.28–1.15), teacher smoking and independent living (RERI=0.68; 95%
CI: 0.11–1.24), teacher smoking, and job experience (RERI=2.12; 95% CI: 1.66–
2.58).
Conclusions
The association between adulthood experience and adolescent cigarette
smoking suggests the rite-of-passage effect, which may be strengthened by the
MLA law. Raising the MLA to an age much higher than the normative age of
adulthood initiation is required. Additionally, targeted intervention for adolescents
with both adulthood experience and exposure close to adult smoking are required
to curb youth smoking.
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